Disabled woman begged husband not to kill her before being smothered with pillow

A disabled pensioner begged her husband not to kill her in their bed as they had “everything to live for” before he smothered her with a pillow, a court has heard.

Peter Matthews, 80, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 10 years on Friday for killing his wife of 56 years Carol, 73, at their home in Denton Grove, Weston Coyney, Stoke-on-Trent, in March.

Stafford Crown Court heard that Mrs Matthews, who was paraplegic and relied on a wheelchair since she was diagnosed with cauda equina syndrome in 2000, pleaded with her husband not to kill her and tried to fight him off as he smothered her despite her frailty.

Matthews (pictured) called 999 on March 22 and admitted he had murdered his wife to “put her out of her misery” even though she did not want to die, and that he had spent two days after killing her trying to take his own life.

Prosecutor David Mason KC told the court Carol was “fiercely independent” and an “extrovert”, while her husband was “quiet” but was “loving and caring, doting on his wife”.

He said: “It is clear he coped very well with his wife’s disabilities. They were devoted to each other, and no-one ever noticed there was a problem between them. They were a loving, happy couple.”

In the days before her death, Mrs Matthews had been in “terrible pain” due to a blockage in her catheter which had required a nurse to attend and help them – and the pair had lost sleep over the issue.

When police arrived at their home, Matthews was taken to the Royal Stoke Hospital, where he commented that their sleep had been disturbed and “I decided we had had enough”.

He also told police and nurses that Mrs Matthews told him: “No Peter, don’t do this” and that he wanted to die “as punishment” for what he had done.

Mr Mason said: “He said the killing was not planned and accepted that Carol had not wanted him to do it.

“Carol was extremely vulnerable due to her age and her disability. This wasn’t just putting a pillow over her head while she was asleep, she was awake and knew what he was doing.

“Even though Carol wanted her husband to stop, it is accepted he was under a huge amount of stress and the 24 years of caring for his wife must have placed enormous pressure upon them.

“He told the police the issues meant he had very little sleep and it is accepted by all of us that despite her stoicism, Carol was in a lot of pain.

“There is no doubt he loved his wife, that he did what he did not out of anger, but because she was in a lot of pain and while he said ‘we wanted her to be put out of her misery’, that is not accurate – she wanted to stay alive.

“It must be seen that he was full and frank with his admissions from the start including that Carol told him to stop but he carried on regardless.”

Defending Matthews, Anis Ali said the murder was the “culmination of many years of emotional and physical fragility experienced by Peter and Carol”.

He said: “They enjoyed together many decades of happy marriage, a married life he valued but of late, the difficulties experienced as a result of Carol’s medical condition and indeed his own mental health, led to the unfortunate event.

“He was and remains tired of life and that in itself is perhaps a demonstration of the very real stress and pain that he himself was enduring.

“He in no way seeks to minimise the trauma and suffering Carol will have suffered at the material time but he believed he was involved in an act of mercy.

“This is not a situation where he is displayed any hostility towards his late wife, it was a set of circumstances prior to the incident where they enjoyed their time together aside from the physical and emotional difficulties they endured.”

Jailing Matthews, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC said he killed his wife because he “could not bear witness to her suffering”, but said Mrs Matthews wanted to live.

She said: “You were both her husband and her carer and all of those who have spoken about your relationship describe it as your being devoted to her, your being a loving husband and that you doted on her.

“Throughout the last few years of your wife’s life, her catheterisation had become problematic and involved your struggling to assist her and witnessing the significant pain and emotional discomfort that her predicament caused her.

“Over the days before you made a call to the emergency services, that particular issue was the predominant feature of your lives.

“This was plainly a very challenging period in your lives but she still saw the quality in her life and wanted it to continue.”

Judge Montgomery imposed a 10-year minimum sentence, reduced to nine years and 228 days due to time already served on remand.

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