Achi news desk-
Harry Turner admits stabbing the 50-year-old almost 70 times in a frenzied attack but denies murdering the mother-of-four.
Newcastle Crown Court heard closing speeches from both the prosecution and defense barristers before the judge, Mrs Justice Lambert, summed up the evidence.
During the trial, jurors heard how the 55-year-old man has already admitted his wife’s manslaughter but maintains that it was the whispered comment that led to ‘losing control’.
Craig Hassall KC, prosecuting, said it took almost 70 blows to subdue Mrs Turner but at no time after he was arrested did he mention that he had ‘lost control’ until he mentioned it in his defense statement.
He added: “You have not heard any evidence that he suffered a loss of control. He has chosen to say no such thing about what happened.”
The defendant maintains that he lost control when Mrs Turner whispered ‘you will never see the girls again’ referring to his grandchildren – the couple were the legal guardians of the two young children.
Giving evidence, the postman said: “Sally whispered to me ‘you’ll never see the girls again’.
“I don’t remember anything after that.”
Andrew Ford KC, representing Turner, urged the jury to focus on his client’s loss of control when he heard his estranged wife’s whispered threat inside her daughter’s home on Cuthbert Avenue, Durham, on June 22, 2022.
He said: “It was an extraordinary attack, unreasonable, out of character and not in keeping with what was said about his personality.
“It makes it a relevant question for you as to whether he was in control.”
The barrister added: “Yes, it was an extreme reaction but it would emphasize to you, it was not a controlled one.”
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Earlier in the trial, jurors heard how Mrs Taylor was having an affair with the taxi driver who took her disabled granddaughter to and from school.
The 50-year-old woman suffered 78 injuries, including defensive injuries, at least 68 knife wounds with the deepest being 11cm deep and one was so powerful it broke her shoulder blade while another broke one of her ribs .
Turner, of Tiree Close, Brandon, has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.
The murder case continues.
