A woman who killed her husband has been convicted of murder after stabbing him a number of times at their home in Somerset.
Penelope Jackson, aged 66, was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for murdering her husband, 78-year-old David Jackson after attacking him with a kitchen knife in February.
David Jackson phoned the emergency services at about 9pm on February 13 and said he had been critically injured.
The 999 call was played out to the jury during the trial. Jackson could be heard taking the phone from David, before telling the call-handler ‘I’ve stabbed my husband’.
On the phone call she described stabbing him in the chest and twice in the abdomen, adding she had aimed for his heart, but he ‘hasn’t got one’. She said she’d ‘had enough’.
The court was told the pair had begun arguing that night following a row over dinner, culminating in Jackson stabbing her husband.
Paramedics were sent to their home address in Parsonage Road, Berrow, but Mr Jackson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Jackson was arrested and during a search of the couple’s home police officers discovered a note from her entitled ‘confession’. Jackson wrote her husband had been a good father but she had taken ‘so much abuse’ over the years.
Police had been called to the address on December 23, 2020, with Jackson reporting being afraid of her husband. Medical experts considered whether his actions could have been linked to a neurological procedure he underwent two days prior and made changes to Mr Jackson’s care as a result.
No further calls were made to police by the couple in the seven-and-a-half weeks preceding Mr Jackson’s death.
Jackson denied one count of murder. Following a two-and-a-half week trial, the jury found her guilty by majority verdict, after more than 10 hours of deliberation.
Judge Martin Picton handed Jackson to a life sentence, of which she will spend a minimum of 18 years in prison, minus time already served in custody.
He said he did not detect a shred of remorse and that Jackson chose to stab her husband to death.
Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Roger Doxsey said: “This is a deeply tragic case, which centred around suspected physical and mental abuse.
“I’d like to pay tribute to David Jackson’s family at this difficult time. The past few months have been tortuous for them and they have shown incredible courage throughout this undoubtedly painful legal process.
“They continue to receive support from a specialist officer and have understandably asked for their privacy to be respected as they look to come to terms with what has happened over the course of this year.”
After the verdict, Mr and Mrs Jackson’s daughter, Isabelle Potterton released the following statement.
She said: "On 13 February my whole world fell away from my feet. From the moment when the police knocked on our door and told us what had happened, I had not only lost my dad but I had lost my mum too. My life was changed forever.
"I have dealt with the looks of pity and people contacting for the gossip. I have dealt with people asking the most inappropriate questions.
"I have done all of this because I have had to. I have to be strong for dad. I have to be strong for mum.
"I have lost the man that I looked up to and loved. I have lost the man that was always there for me no matter what. The man that came and fixed things in my house which I didn’t know even needed fixing. The man that could make me laugh.
"But I feel I have also lost my mum. I have lost the woman who always knew how to make me feel better. The woman who was my friend, my champion and my support. The woman who cared, cherished and loved me.
"Yes I know mum is here but she’s not the same person I knew. I don’t know what the future holds but I do know that the relationship I once cherished can never be built back to what it was.
"However, I love both of them. I always have and I always will.
"I would finally like to thank family and friends who have supported us over the past eight months, especially my husband who has been a rock to me. I don’t believe we’ll ever come to terms with what has happened but would sincerely ask for our privacy to be respected as we seek to move forward with our lives."
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