Crowbar killer snared by wife’s blood on socks
A BANK worker who bludgeoned his wife to death with a crowbar was trapped by a speck of blood on his socks, a court heard yesterday.
Computer expert David Pomphret, 51, struck Ann Marie, 49, more than 30 times over the head at their stables.
He dialled 999 saying he had found her lying in a pool of blood, “very dead”.
In a 29-minute call to emergency services last November, he said: “There is brain and blood everywhere, and it looks like she has had her head beaten in.” He refused to attempt CPR saying: “She’s stone cold.”
Pomphret was arrested that night but protested his innocence and was released on bail. He was arrested months later after his wife’s “airborne blood” was found on his socks, which put him at scene near Warrington, Cheshire.
Pomphret then admitted manthe slaughter, telling Liverpool Crown Court he “killed the woman I loved”. He denied murder, blaming his wife’s behaviour and claiming a temporary loss of control. But he was convicted following a 10-day trial with daughter Megan, 18, watching in the gallery.
Earlier the court heard that Pomphret was at “breaking point” after suffering violence and abuse from his “volatile” wife during their 22-year marriage.
He washed the blood off his hands, threw the crowbar in a pond and burned his clothes. But he failed to get rid of his socks. Gordon Cole QC, prosecuting, said: “One huge mistake. Without the socks, there’s no forensic evidence linking him to the scene.”
Pomphret was told to expect life in prison after sentencing next week.