A man who stabbed his wife to death as she lay in bed has today been found guilty of her murder.
David Maggs, a 71-year-old retired accounted, admitted to killing Lynda Maggs, 74, at their home in Sebastopol, Pontypool, on 6 February 2021.
A post-mortem examination found Mrs Maggs had been stabbed more than 15 times.
Maggs claimed he “blanked out” during the assault and entered a guilty plea to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
Cardiff Crown Court heard the couple were undergoing a divorce at the time following their 28 year-long marriage, and were living separate lives from inside the same home.
According to a number of witnesses, Maggs had become obsessed with the idea his ex-wife was benefitting unfairly from the split.
The jury also heard from an estate agent who had come to value their property and a housing officer - among several others - that they had overheard Maggs threatening to “stab” or “kill” his estranged wife.
Just after 9am that February morning, Prosecutor Michael Jones QC said, the husband took two red kitchen knives upstairs to Lynda’s bedroom and “made good that threat”.
“He murdered Lynda Maggs,” he declared.
In his interview with police, Maggs claimed he only wanted to engage in a discussion with his ex-wife over the financial aspects of the separation.
He said he carried the knives upstairs with him, leaving one outside the door, before sitting on her bed and asking to talk.
Taking a disliking to her response, he is suspected to have then become violent.
Mrs Maggs maintained more than 15 stab wounds to her head, neck and torso, a post-mortem examination found.
“I just killed the wife,” the husband told a 999 phone operator. “I just lost it.”
Body cam footage of Maggs being arrested by police inside the Sebastopol address captured him telling officers: “I’ve just had enough. She tried to steal two houses from me, two houses.”
Later on in his interview at Ystrad Mynach police station, the defendant said: “Thirty years I’ve been married to her and she doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut, so I topped her.”
Psychiatrist, Dr Nuwan Galappathie, told the jury: “In my opinion, the degree of his impairment due to depression is significant.
“This is a case where there are clear and significant mental health problems. In my opinion, this is a case of diminished responsibility.”
But another psychiatrist, Dr Thomas Wynne, told the court he did not think Maggs was suffering from depression.
Following a day and a half of deliberations, the jury found Maggs guilty of murder.
Judge Michael Fitton QC told the jury: “You have given it your all”.
He said David Maggs would be sentenced on March 17 2022 at 2pm.
