Emmonds was jailed for life after she butchered Tina Casey, who wanted to move 200 miles away after separating from Heather’s son.
After two failed poisoning attempts, Emmonds, 58, stabbed her son’s ex 15 times with a filleting knife. The following day, police discovered handwritten confession notes in which Emmonds told her grandson: “I really thought it was the best for you.”
And, incredibly, Emmonds claimed during her trial that she had been influenced by watching procedural crime drama CSI on TV.
Now, two years after Emmonds was found guilty of murder, Tina’s devastated sister Tracey talks about the brutal killing for the first time.
And she believes Emmonds got her wish — because her grandson, who innocently played upstairs on his Xbox while his mum was stabbed to death, now lives with his dad.
Tracey, 48, from Douglas, Isle of Man, says: “Sadly, my nephew, who is now 12, remained with his father just as Heather wanted.
“I knew Heather had wanted to keep the boy at home with his dad but I never thought she would stoop to such a level.”
Emmonds was armed with a filleting knife, a change of clothes and gloves when she went to Tina’s home in February 2013.
A month earlier, after splitting with Emmonds’ son, Tina had decided to move from Holywell, North Tyneside, back to the Isle of Man where she grew up. She has four other children, none of whom lived with her at the time.
“She was anxious and edgy — not at all like the bubbly girl I knew.
“She told me she wanted to move back home. She said Heather had become controlling and was demanding to see her grandson.
“I was pleased Tina was coming home but worried about how Heather would react to Tina moving 200 miles away.”
The sisters then kept in regular contact via Skype.
Mum of three Tracey says: “Tina believed Heather was doing everything in her power to stop her moving away.
“She told me that she hadn’t felt very well after eating a chilli which Heather made her and feared she might have been poisoned.
“I told her not to be stupid and that Heather would not do that. How wrong I was.”
“I had met Heather. Although she seemed to obsess over her grandson, she seemed like a lovely lady.
“But I told Tina if she was seriously worried that she should call the police.”
A few days later, Tina told me she had felt ill again after eating a Chinese meal.
“She even confronted Heather, who denied tampering with it.”
Three days later, Tracey discovered her sister had been murdered.
She says: “I was scrolling through Facebook when a message came up from Tina’s friend, Joanne. My jaw dropped as I read it.
“She told me there is a police tent outside Tina’s home.
“I rang Northumbria Police. They said a body had been found inside the house and they thought it might be Tina.
“It was as though I was trapped in a nightmare — my darling sister had gone and I knew who did it.
“They asked me to identify the body. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.”
The police later confirmed to Tracey that Heather had been arrested and charged with Tina’s murder. Nine months later she appeared at Newcastle Crown Court — and Tracey listened to the chilling details of the murder.
It emerged that Emmonds had tried to poison Tina twice — by crushing sleeping pills into a chilli dish and a sweet and sour meal.
At Tina’s house, Emmonds attacked her from behind. The cruel gran admitted to police she had put her hand over Tina’s mouth as she stabbed her to stop her screaming.
Tina suffered more than 15 gruesome wounds to her head, neck and body.
When she had murdered her son’s partner, she then callously threw a duvet over the body and told her grandson, who had been upstairs on his Xbox, his mum was asleep. Amazingly, Emmonds casually went about her evening and even dropped her grandson off with his dad before going to play bingo.
There was also a letter written to her grandson, which read: “Please don’t hate me for what I have done.
“I really thought it was the best for you. I will always love you.”
“I know it won’t look like it but dad is a great dad for you so be good for him and Gramps.”
The court also heard Emmonds had considered setting fire to Tina’s home, with the victim’s body inside, to try to hide the crime.
She admitted stabbing Tina but claimed she was not in control of her actions.
But the jury found Emmonds guilty of murder and the judge told her she must spend a minimum of 20 years in prison.
Tracey says: “I felt so relieved when the jury came back with a guilty verdict. I was worried Heather would get a lower sentence due to her age.
“It upsets me that I haven’t seen my nephew or even heard from him since the court case.
“When he gets older he will ask questions, long before Heather gets out of prison.
“I hope that when the time comes, he wants to speak to us.
“Now, I am determined to keep Tina’s memory alive.
“I miss her every day, but it helps to know Heather is behind bars.”
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