Man 'murdered estranged wife'

A man from Greater Manchester killed his wife with a kitchen knife because she was leaving him and taking their two children with her, a court has heard.

Soulaimane El-Allali then tried to kill himself, the jury at Manchester Crown Court was told.

His 34-year-old wife, Wendy, had returned to the family home in Timperley in February 2002 to collect some clothes after leaving her 36-year-old husband.

But, the prosecution alleges, he attacked her, cut her throat, and stabbed her in the stomach with a kitchen knife.

'Killed my wife'

It is claimed he then called the police before trying to kill himself by cutting his own throat and stabbing himself with the same knife.

He allegedly told police in his phone call: "I have killed my wife, I have killed myself."

But he survived after receiving hospital treatment.

The police later found a video recording he made for his mother in which he claimed his life had been destroyed and was begging for forgiveness.

Timothy Holroyde QC, prosecuting, said: "Whatever he had in mind when recording that video, we suggest it was clear he was already contemplating something drastic."

He added that Mr El-Allali, who was originally from Morocco and worked as a postman, had told his wife's mother that if Wendy did not want him she "wasn't having anybody else".

The defence says the murder charge should be reduced to manslaughter on the grounds of provocation or diminished responsibility.

The trial continues.