Hullbridge: Robert Lewis murdered wife Janet after 'obsession' with dementia
- Published
An 80-year-old man "obsessed" with the idea he had dementia murdered his wife of 60 years before attempting to kill himself, a jury heard.
Robert Lewis stabbed and clubbed Janet Lewis, 76, as she slept at their home in Hullbridge, Essex, on 1 September 2019, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.
She managed to get to the landing while Mr Lewis was attempting to take his own life, and was stabbed in the neck.
Mr Lewis, who appeared via video link, denies murder.
Prosecutor Claire Howell said he would claim an abnormality of mind, but it was their case that he had "mild cognitive impairment", which was to be expected at his age.
In the six months prior to the killing, Mr Lewis, now 81, was diagnosed with depression, the court heard.
"He was obsessed with the thought he had dementia... she was frustrated and stressed by his behaviour," said the prosecutor.
'Thought he had killed her'
The jury heard Mrs Lewis was "probably asleep" when he hit her with a wooden club and stabbed her several times.
"Mr Lewis thought he had killed her... he went to the landing where he attempted to stab himself," said Ms Howell.
With his wife's blood on him he then attached a rope with a noose to a rafter in the loft, the jury heard.
"While he was doing that Janet Lewis, bleeding and badly injured, managed to get off the bed and came out to the landing," added Ms Howell.
"It was at that point that he delivered the stab wound severing her carotid artery... Janet Lewis collapsed, falling into the spare room, and died."
The court heard Mr Lewis was found at the bottom of the stairs.
In a 999 call played to the jury, the couple's son-in-law Christopher Morris was describing the defendant's injuries to the control room operator when Mr Lewis told him he had killed his wife.
In hospital, Mr Lewis gave no explanation other than there was "something going on" in his brain, and in police interview he claimed he had no recollection of the killing.
The trial continues.
