A woman from London, England, who stabbed her husband during a dispute about what to watch on television has been acquitted of murder.
According to the Old Bailey, 50-year-old Leonora Sinclair preferred to watch Harry Hill while her husband Lloyd, 73, wanted to see the football at their home in Enfield.
The jury heard that during a confrontation in January, the dental nurse stabbed her husband of 10 months in the thigh with a knife, resulting in his bleeding to death.
Sinclair has been found guilty of manslaughter and is set to be sentenced in December.
Jurors were informed that Mr. Sinclair, who worked as a driver for a church care centre, feared his wife, as she had previously assaulted him.
On the day of the incident, she had sent a text to a friend stating: “I am watching Steel Magnolias and [drinking] wine while Lloyd makes the dinner. LOL.”
Later, during their argument about television programming, she stabbed him in the back of his left thigh with a large kitchen knife.
PC Gillian Bills recounted that Sinclair mentioned on the way to the hospital, “We had an argument about what to watch on TV.
“He wanted to watch football, and I wanted to watch Harry Hill.”
Having been married twice previously, Sinclair denied stabbing her husband, asserting that he must have accidentally injured himself when he had her in a headlock.
She remarked, “I didn’t stab Lloyd. I did everything possible to save my husband’s life.
“I treated my husband with respect and dignity. I loved my husband.”
However, the prosecution claimed that Sinclair had exhibited violence towards her husband, and that friends and family had observed his injuries.
Bobbie Cheema, the prosecutor, stated: “She derived a certain pleasure from humiliating him.
“Lloyd would show up to work with visible signs of physical harm, including bruising on his face.
“When questioned about them, he would openly acknowledge they were inflicted by Leonora.”
Sinclair, residing at Windward Close, is due to be sentenced on December 6.
