Mother jailed for beating husband to death freed on bail
Sons ‘overjoyed’ at release ahead of retrial
A MOTHER jailed for bludgeoning her husband to death with a hammer will be freed from prison today before being retried for murder.
Sally Challen, 65, wept yesterday when a judge granted her bail weeks after her original conviction was quashed in a landmark ruling.
Mrs Challen has denied murdering her husband Richard, 61, arguing that she killed him after being bullied and humiliated over more than three decades of marriage.
Mr Justice Edis said the former Police Federation manager could live with her family before an expected retrial as he granted her conditional bail at the Old Bailey yesterday.
Mrs Challen appeared in court via video link from HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, where she has been imprisoned for the past eight years. Asked to enter a plea after the murder charge against her was read out, she said: ‘Not guilty, but guilty to manslaughter.’ She was watched in court by family members including her two sons James and David, who appeared jubilant after the successful bail application by defence lawyer Clare Wade QC.
David, 32, described his mother’s expected release at noon today as a ‘massive moment’ for the family, who have said a retrial is a waste of taxpayers’ money.
Speaking outside court, he said: ‘We are overjoyed that bail has been granted for our mother and she will be released back to us. Our mother now rejoins our family.
‘It’s a happy day for us – we get to see her again.’
Mrs Challen, from Claygate, Surrey, will live with her son James, 35, and his partner Jennifer Turney, 33, after her release and will be subject to a curfew.
Under her release conditions, she will also be expected to register with a GP, refrain from international travel and report to a police station twice a week.
Mrs Challen’s brother Chris Jenney, 63, said: ‘I am absolutely over the moon. The family are all supporting Sally. We have done from day one. Our strength’s built and will build even further. This is a fantastic day for us.’
The court heard Mrs Challen plans to oppose the murder charge on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Just over a month ago her original murder conviction was quashed after an appeal in which she argued that she had been ‘coercively controlled’ by her husband of 31 years.
In the ruling, Lady Justice Hallett said: ‘The Court of Appeal heard that, in the opinion of a consultant forensic psychiatrist, the appellant was suffering from two mental disorders at the time of the killing. This evidence was not available at the time of the trial and the court quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial.’
Mrs Challen, whose real name is Georgina, killed her husband at their £1million Surrey home on August 14, 2010. In June 2011, she was jailed for 22 years at Guildford Crown Court but this was reduced to 18 years on appeal.
Mr Justice Edis said yesterday the case will be transferred to the Old Bailey, with a scheduled trial on July 1 ‘if necessary’.