Leicester man jailed after killing wife and jumping off cliff

Hunstanton Cliffs in Hunstanton

A depressed man who killed his wife then tried to kill himself by jumping off a cliff has been jailed.

Loughborough Magistrates' Court heard Kaushik Solanki killed his wife Manisha in Leicester on 14 April 2021.

The court was told the marriage had been a happy one for 25 years, but started deteriorating in 2016 and became "toxic" due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The judge gave Solanki a sentence of 10 years.

Warning - this article contains distressing content.

The 55-year-old, who now uses a wheelchair, was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. This was on the basis he was suffering from a major depressive disorder when he killed his wife.

At Loughborough Magistrates' Court on Friday, the couple's two sons read victim personal statements in which they explained how they had supported their father following their mother's death.

Nainesh, 23, described both of his parents as "good, kind and caring people", who both "loved their work supporting disabled service users".

"As lockdown started and healthcare services started to close, my parents became trapped within their own environment and couldn't give each other a break from each other, leading to a cycle of toxic behaviour," he said.

Jaishiva, who is 26 and works as a doctor, said his father had "spent days weeping in pain" following his mother's death, "his mind torn apart as well as his body".

"He was a broken man mentally and I'm proud of me and my brother for bringing him back," he said.

The court heard the couple married in India in 1991 and lived in Leicester for most of their married life.

Gordon Aspden QC, prosecuting, explained how they were both devoted to raising their sons.

Mrs Solanki, who was 49, also worked as a teaching assistant for students with special educational needs at Leicester College. Her husband worked as a driver for Leicester City Council, transporting vulnerable children to and from school.

Mr Aspden said the marriage started deteriorating in 2016 for a number of reasons.

'Covid happened'

There had been allegations of abuse on both sides, and the court heard police were involved on several occasions between 2018 and 2020.

The couple's sons said they had seen their mother being physically abusive to their father but had never seen their father hit their mother.

Their father had covertly recorded video footage, which was played to the court. It showed his wife shouting at him and hitting him, while he was sitting with his head in his hands.

Siobhan Grey, defending, said he tended to "bottle everything up inside" until he eventually "snapped" and killed his wife.

"There was domestic background and of course, Covid happened," she said.

"Everyone had to stay at home and it just exacerbated the already dire situation that was happening at home. Day in, day out, drip, drip, until the defendant snapped."

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Mrs Solanki was beaten to death with a shortened hockey stick, and had "no less than 11 significant blunt force trauma wounds" to her scalp.

Her fingers were broken where she had tried to shield herself from the blows, the court heard.

Mr Solanki, the court was told, then decapitated her dead body by sawing off her head.

The defendant attempted to take his own life the following day, after driving to Hunstanton in Norfolk. He jumped from a cliff and landed on rocks that were described in court as being "jagged".

"He must have chosen the means by which to take his own life," Mr Aspden said.

"This means it would have been as painful as one can possibly imagine; intentionally throwing himself off a cliff not on to a flat surface but on to jagged rocks below."

Mr Aspden said it was a "miracle" the defendant did not die.

Solanki was sentenced at Loughborough Magistrates' Court on Friday

"He suffered truly dreadful injuries but appeared still to be conscious," Mr Aspden said.

His injuries included fractures to all of his limbs. Judge Timothy Spencer QC commented that he looked "like a ragdoll" when emergency services found him.

He also had a traumatic brain haemorrhage, which could have been fatal, but was treated for this and has suffered no lasting brain damage.

The judge formally commended all of the police officers involved, from across three forces - Leicestershire, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire.

He also said the sons had shown "amazing dignity" and said they had been in an "impossible situation".