MANCHESTER MAN SENTENCED AFTER KILLING WIFE WITH PAVING SLAB SHORTLY AFTER POLICE LEFT HIS HOME
A court has heard that Michael Smales, aged 45, tragically murdered his wife Patricia, an airport check-in agent, using a paving slab just 50 minutes after emergency paramedics responded to a 999 call about his behavior.The attack occurred shortly after police and ambulance crews arrived at their residence and found Smales as 'calm and lucid,' prompting them to leave.
Less than an hour later, he carried out the fatal assault within their home.
After the incident, Smales was found nearby on a motorway embankment, nearly unclothed, and was heard saying: 'My name is Jeremy Clarkson - if I die, you die too.' The court was informed that the murder might have been prevented if paramedics had taken Smales to a mental health facility.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was ordered to undergo hospital treatment.
It was also revealed that Patricia, who had decided to leave Smales after his bizarre behavior, had previously been sectioned and treated in a psychiatric hospital following a threat to set their house on fire.
The violence erupted after Patricia declared her intention to leave him, and Smales called her sister to the house claiming he felt unsafe.
The prosecution detailed how Smales attacked Patricia, punching her, trying to strangle her, then smashing her with a house brick and repeatedly hitting her with a seven-kilo paving slab.
After the murder, Smales fled shirtless and was later detained near a hospital.
Patricia’s father expressed shock at the violence, describing Smales as a good husband with no previous history of violence and emphasizing that his actions stemmed from psychiatric issues.
The judge ordered Smales to a hospital, noting the brutality of the attack and the swift death Patricia suffered during the prolonged assault.
Her family issued a statement mourning her loss, describing her as a loving daughter and dedicated worker at Manchester Airport.
An investigation officer described the incident as tragic and linked it to Patricia's decision to leave her home, which apparently triggered Smales’s violent outburst.
