OAP, 72, killed wife of 35yrs

A PENSIONER who battered his wife to death with a vase made by her son has been jailed for life.

John Chapman, 72, hit Jean, 81, up to 10 times as she slept. They had been married 35 years.

The weapon was made by one of her two sons as a schoolboy, Chelmsford crown court, Essex, heard.

Chapman, of Clacton, rang 999 and said: “I’ve just killed my wife,” adding he had wanted to kill himself but had not known how Jean would manage.