Husband ‘killed wife then f led to his mother’
A FATHER of two has been charged with killing his wife after a friend found her with severe head injuries at the couple’s suburban home.
Technician Steven Grainger, 32, who was arrested at his mother’s house nearby, buried his head in his hands as he appeared in court yesterday.
His wife Simone, 30, the mother of their ten-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son, was discovered dying at their end-ofterrace home in Calcot, near Reading, after a friend raised the alarm on Saturday afternoon.
Paramedics were called to the quiet cul-de-sac, where the couple moved to six months ago, but Mrs Grainger died shortly after they arrived. Detectives launched a hunt for her husband, and he was arrested at his mother’s home several miles away ten hours later.
Neighbours described the Graingers, who recently marked their second wedding anniversary,
‘Angel’: Mrs Grainger as a ‘ happy, normal couple’ and said their children had been staying with their grandparents over the weekend.
Mrs Grainger’s devastated family paid tribute to the ‘beautiful and kind’ young woman, and vowed to look after her two ‘precious’ children. They said: ‘We are a family lost in grief on an unprecedented scale. Our angel Simone was a young mother, daughter, sister, cousin, granddaughter, niece and a friend to so many.
‘She was beautiful and kind and put so much into being all those things. Anyone who knew Simone will share our loss and feel the anguish and pain that has ripped through us all at this time.
‘We miss you so much, Simone – your smile and spirit will never leave us. Rest in peace, angel.’ Appearing at Reading Magistrates’ Court, Grainger was told he was charged with the murder of his wife on or around November 4. He did not enter a plea and will appear at a hearing at Reading Crown Court today.
The murder scene was sealed off last night. Police declined to say whether a weapon was involved.