Cwmbran murder-accused Anthony Williams says he planned suicide

Anthony Williams, 70, strangled his wife Ruth, 67, after an argument at their home

A husband who killed his wife days into the first national Covid lockdown said he meant to kill himself too but could not go through with it, a court hears.

Anthony Williams, 70, strangled his wife Ruth, 67, after an argument at their home in Cwmbran, Torfaen, on 28 March, Swansea Crown Court was told.

Mr Williams, who denies murder, told officers at the scene "I am sorry, I just snapped", the jury heard.

He admits manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

The court heard he told detectives: "I did mean to kill her but to kill myself after as well."

The trial was told the attack began in the bedroom of their home in Brynglas area of the town and continued downstairs.

Mrs Williams was found slumped in the porch with a pair of keys in her hand. She was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead.

In a series of police interviews read to the jury, Mr Williams agreed with detectives he was responsible killing his wife.

He said he had been getting about two hours' sleep a night and had "felt depressed lately" because he was worried about having to stay at home during the lockdown, and was concerned about accessing his bank accounts.

Mr Williams, who is retired, was asked to explain what happened on the morning of his wife's death.

'Just snapped'

"We woke in the morning, I had been tossing and turning all night, two nights I could not sleep," Mr Williams told detectives.

"My wife said 'get over it' or 'come on - get over it'. I just snapped. I started screaming and she tried calming me down.

"I had my hands around her throat, and I was actually choking the living daylights out of her.

"I had all these scratches over me and she is fighting me back."

He told detectives she got away from him and went downstairs.

"I went after her and she went to unlock the doors to go out and I tried to stop her."

He told police he was "throttling her to death".

Money worries

When the officers asked Mr Williams about what was on his mind the night before his wife died, he said: "It's everything... finances.

"One of the things I was worrying about was having to stay in as of Monday, it just dawned on me," Mr Williams said.

"I'm not a clothes horse, and it dawned on me, I only have two pairs of shoes, one of them nearly worn out.

"It's little things like that going on in your mind all the time."

The detectives asked Mr Williams further questions about his financial worries, and he replied: "Not my immediate finances, we don't get a lot of pension and we're living a lot on our savings.

"I've been in the habit of just going in the bank and transferring it over when necessary.

"You can't do that at this moment in time, it's a worry on my mind then. I actually transferred some money to my current account. I think about what if that was wiped out, what would I do?

"It's just a multitude of things like that I worry about."

The trial continues.