Woman strangled husband of 31 years to death with dressing gown cord
A woman who killed her husband with a dressing gown cord has been sentenced to a hospital order.
Lorraine Smith, 63, called the police in the early hours of December 13, 2021 and told them her husband Andrew, 70, had died.
During the phone call she said: ‘My husband’s deceased body has been in the house for three days. I think it was me.’
Paramedics and police officers arrived at their home in Beauvale Gardens, Peterborough, where they found Mr Smith dead.
The couple had been married for 31 years.
During a police interview Smith described feeling confused and having ‘some sort of vision’.
She remembered having an argument with her husband before grabbing the cord of his dressing gown and pulling it tightly around his neck.
Smith pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility at Peterborough crown court on May 11.
On Friday, at the same court, she was sentenced to a hospital order, meaning she will be sent to hospital rather than prison.
The order lasts for six months initially, but there is no limit to how many times it can be renewed.
Detective Constable Kirsty Forth said: ‘This is a tragic case where a man has lost his life prematurely. I hope now the case has been concluded his family can begin to move on with their lives.’
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