THE BUTCHER OF BROMLEY: Man, 90, STABS blind wife to 'quieten her' after she woke up screaming at night
BROMLEY, ENGLAND: A 90-year-old pensioner from Bromley, Edward Turpin, revealed that he attempted to stab his sick wife, Joan Turpin, to "quieten her down" while she was sleeping at night last year. Turpin, a former butcher by profession, said he used his carving knife to attack her as he had run out of patience while caring for his ailing wife.
His wife, a bedridden woman of 90, is blind and requires a catheter. She has become increasingly dependent on him but the old man felt he could "no longer cope" with the care his wife needed. The couple are residents of a home in Ringshall Road, Orpinton and have been married for 60 years. In a fit of sudden anger, Turpin stabbed his wife at 1.30 am on September 22, 2021.
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According to MyLondon, Edward Turpin has denied the charges of attempted murder as well as the alternative charge of wounding with intent while giving evidence to jurors from Old Bailey who heard the case on Thursday, September 1, 2022.
Turpin revealed that all was well in the evening before the incident. However, when the couple were in bed sometime in the early hours of morning, Joan elbowed him in the back and said she could not sleep in a rather "aggressive" tone. According to him, she then began screaming nonstop and wouldn't be reasoned with.
Turpin then told jurors that he could not remember how the incident went about, but further questioning and cross-examination revealed that hearing his wife scream uncontrollably, he went downstairs to get his knife. He had "made up [his] mind", he said, adding that stabbing her would be the most suitable way to "calm [his] wife down." He also asserted that he had no intention of killing her.
During the course of cross-examination, prosecutor Alistair Richardson asked, "You must remember whether or not you have gone downstairs?" Turpin answered, "I can't remember." Richardson prompted him with the statement, "Well, the knives are downstairs," to which he responded with a "Yeah, I must have." The prosecutor then asked, "You must have selected a knife?" The 90-year-old response to this was simple - "Sir, I'm a butcher." He added that he had picked a "carver" used for cutting "roast beef and stuff like that." It was also the smallest knife in their home.
Richardson observed, "You, I think, are telling us that even with that time for reflection [going downstairs] you thought stabbing her was the right way to stop her screaming?" Turpin replied in the affirmative and added, "All I was trying to do was calm my wife down." Another surprising statement came when the prosecutor pointed out that stabbing her should not have been his go-to solution, upon which the former butcher said, "So you're saying I should have strangled her?" Additionally, he denied any claims of wanting to harm either himself or his wife, saying, "We had 60 good years and all I want to do is, you know, carry on life."
After the attack, Mrs Turpin survived, despite a collapsed lung and at least four stab wounds. Her husband complained of having to do all the work at home, including, cooking, cleaning, and emptying her catheter. According to the Mirror, the 90-year-olds are still married, but the wife lives in a care home and Turpin still calls her twice a day. The trial is expected to last two days.