MAN JAILED FOR MANSLAUGHTER AFTER WIFE BURNED BEEF
A man was sentenced to 18 months in jail today for killing his wife with a single blow after she burned the beef during a lunch gathering.Jonathan Wicks, aged 48, who worked as a TV location manager on shows like the BBC's Holby City, struck his wife Sarah following a series of trivial disagreements.
Mrs.
Wicks, 49, died last May after suffering a ruptured artery in her neck at their home in Stourton, Warwickshire.
Wicks claimed he acted in self-defence because she threw plates at him, but the court convicted him of manslaughter.
During sentencing at Birmingham crown court, Judge Richard Griffith-Jones stated: "You are a man who has led a respectable and successful life.
That success encompassed what I believe to be a loving and harmonious domestic life that was brought to a tragic end during a tiff between you and your much-loved wife, which resulted in a blow from you, which in many other instances would have caused bruising, but in this instance caused her death." The judge emphasized this was a quick argument that occurred very privately at home.
The defense, represented by David Howker QC, said Wicks had struck only one moderate force blow during a disagreement over an ‘overcooked’ joint of beef prepared for guests, describing the event as a tragic incident rather than violence.
Evidence showed that the couple were devoted and loving, with no prior signs of violence.
Wicks was not accused of intending to kill his wife but was found to have unlawfully punched or slapped her.
The court's verdict reflects that this was not a case of common public violence but a tragic one-off incident during a domestic argument.
