Janet Dunn: Retired lollipop lady smothers husband with pillow after he smiled during chat about money
PONTELAND, NORTHUMBERLAND: A retired lollipop lady smothered her husband's face with a pillow and killed him. She snapped when he smiled at her during their chat where the lady revealed her financial struggle. The incident took place in their bedroom at their home in Ponteland, as revealed in the court. After killing her husband, the lady ran away and tried to kill herself.
Janet Dunn, 73, "snapped" and killed her husband Anthony by smothering his face with a pillow. Dunn admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The prosecutor, Peter Glenser QC, during the court hearing revealed that Mr Dunn, 81, would make grand financial moves that would eventually prove unfruitful, and then they would borrow money from their family which they were unable to pay back. Glenser also revealed that Mr Dunn liked to be in control and was short-tampered.
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The couple had to face having their home of 36 years repossessed. After killing her husband, Dunn drove to a nearby lake in her Mercedes in an attempt to die, but she was found unresponsive and unconscious by a dog-walker who raised the alarm. The couple had three children but the middle one, aged 47, died last year. Dunn, who is a great grandmother, was jailed for five years and three months at Newcastle Crown Court.
73-year-old kills her husband
While handing out the sentence, Judge Paul Sloan explained that the couple was once again in a tough spot where they would have to ask for a loan from their decision which led to this drastic turn of events. Judge Sloan said, "He simply smiled, telling you to go ahead. You interpreted that smile as demonstrating a completely uncaring and unfeeling attitude. After decades of compliance and submission, it was the smile that finally caused you to snap. The anger and frustration you had repressed for years boiled over."
On the other hand, the psychiatrists also agreed with the fact that at the time of the incident, Dunn was in a depressive episode and anxious which caused her judgment to be clouded. Experts also established that Dunn's relationship with her husband was one of coercive control. The prosecutor argued that their married life had been verbally abusive and said she would be left "treading on eggshells." While the two surviving daughters gave the victim statements, they were not read out aloud in court. John Elvidge QC, mitigating, also added, "This is an extraordinary case. The facts and the background that have been uncovered are extremely sad and distressing. In spite of it all, Mrs Dunn did love her husband. She is desperately sorry for taking his life and for what she has done to their daughters."