Abusive wife jailed for life after murdering husband
AN ABUSIVE wife who killed her husband after repeatedly hitting him over the head with a rolling pin has been handed a life sentence.
German-born Hannegret Donnelly, 55, was told she must serve at least 16 years in prison after she was found guilty of murdering Christopher Donnelly, 55, at the home they shared with their four children in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
The former midwife controlled his life through “threats and beatings” and her “systematic domestic abuse” weakened his body to the point of death, police said.
Mr Donnelly contracted pneumonia after suffering 78 visible injuries, including a cauliflower ear, as well as internal injuries including fractures to his shoulder blade, spine and neck.
The former music teacher lay dead on the bathroom floor overnight before his wife dialled 999 on March 31 last year and told police she had previously hit her husband over the head with a rolling pin.
Detectives found his blood on furniture, walls and ceilings throughout their house due to the repeated beatings she had subjected him to.
Yesterday Mrs Justice Yip handed Donnelly a life sentence at Kingston Crown Court, telling her she must serve at least 16 years.
She said: “The circumstances are unusual. It is clear Christopher experienced real physical suffering for a long period before his death.
“It is inconceivable he didn’t also suffer mentally.”
The couple had been married for 23 years and lived an isolated existence with their children, who were aged between 13 and 21 at the time of Mr Donnelly’s death, the court heard.
The judge said it is “hard to imagine the horror” the children must have been party to.
Prosecutor Eloise Marshall QC said Mr Donnelly was unable to walk and had become disabled by January, but his wife inflicted “mental and physical suffering” until the time of his death.
Tim Maloney QC, defending, said: “There was no clear intention to kill.”