Ann Marie Pomphret trial: Husband killed wife after 'useless' taunt

David and Ann Marie Pomphret had been married for 22 years

A man told his murder trial he bludgeoned his wife to death after she called him "limp and useless" over his erectile dysfunction during a row.

Ann Marie Pomphret, 49, was found dead at stables she and husband David owned in Warrington, Cheshire, on 2 November.

Mr Pomphret, 51, admits manslaughter but denies murder on the grounds of a temporary loss of control.

He told Liverpool Crown Court his wife began "ranting" at him and he "snapped" while holding a crowbar.

The jury heard the couple met on Mrs Pomphret's 21st birthday and were "happily married" with an 18-year-old daughter but, over the course of their 22-year marriage, his wife's physical and mental health deteriorated.

Mr Pomphret said his wife could go from being happy to depressed "in minutes" and become "very angry, very quickly".

She suffered from depression, was having treatment for cancer and had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, the jury heard.

Mr Pomphret said he and their daughter developed "coping mechanisms", by removing themselves or his wife from a situation and deciding to "let her rant".

'Pool of blood'

The Barclays bank technology expert said the couple had gone to the stables to check on their horses on 2 November when Mrs Pomphret began "ranting" at him.

He said she called him a "crap parent" and "limp and useless" before slapping him across the face.

When Richard Pratt QC, defending, asked him what happened next to he replied: "I remember reaching out to grab her hood. Then I don't remember."

Mr Pratt then asked: "What's the next thing you remember?"

Mr Pomphret said: "I was standing at the side of her body. There was blood on my hands and the crowbar. She was on the floor.

"She was lying in a pool of blood making no noises. She wasn't moving."

The court had previously heard she had been struck more than 30 times over the head.

Mr Pomphret said he was "horrified" then panicked and "stupidly" tried to cover his tracks, burning his bloodied clothes and throwing the crowbar in a pond before returning home.

The trial continues.