WILTSHIRE MAN ADMITTED TO MURDERING WIFE, GETS 13 YEARS
A lorry driver named Richard Butcher, aged 36, pleaded guilty at Bristol Crown Court to the murder of his wife Julie in 2005 at their home in Chiseldon, Wiltshire.He admitted to strangling and slitting her throat, having previously denied the murder but changed his plea during the court proceedings.
The court sentenced him to serve a minimum of 13 years in jail.
Police had to be called into court as he was being taken down when some of Julie's family tried to reach him.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Jennings described Julie's death as a 'senseless waste of life which deprived three children of their mother.' During the 10-minute hearing, Butcher only confirmed his identity and entered a guilty plea.
Members of Mrs.
Butcher's family witnessed the admission.
Her body was found by police and her sister in the kitchen of their house.
The couple's children, two girls and a boy, were all under nine years old at the time of the attack.
Detective Jennings stated: 'The tragedy of course is that there are three children, all very young, and they have lost a dear and loving mother and have, in fact, now lost a father because he will be incarcerated for a long time.
Butcher has a violent history and was unable to cope with the domestic situation, resorting to extreme violence.'
