Briton killed wife for overcooked dinner

LONDON - A Briton killed his wife with a single punch after she threw plates at him for complaining about overcooked dinner, a court was told.

Jonathan Wicks, 48, punched wife Sarah after she threw plates at him because he complained about the burned roast beef. The blow ruptured an artery in her neck and she died at their home in Warwickshire.

Wicks denies manslaughter.

Warwick Crown Court was told Wednesday how Sarah was killed after a liqour party in May last year.

“When Wicks killed his wife he did not intend to kill her. The act was a punch or a slap, but we say it was unlawful and it was violent, and he had no lawful reason to do it,” Daily Mail quoted James Burbidge, prosecutor, as saying.

Jury was told that after guests left, Wicks hit his wife before driving away from the house. He returned 20 minutes later and dialled emergency.

When paramedics arrived at their home, they found Sarah on the kitchen floor and Wicks crouching next to her.

Wicks pleaded with them: “I’ve killed her. She was throwing plates at me and I hit her. Oh my God, what have I done? It should be me lying there. Just hit me with a blunt object.”

Pathologist Steven Willis said: “Even if she (Sarah) had been surrounded by doctors and surgeons when this happened there would have been almost no chance of survival.”