Woman who killed partner jailed

A woman who stabbed her partner through the heart with a knife he handed to her has been jailed for 27 months.

Bernadette Molloy was tried for the murder of Neil Wilkin in December but jurors were unable to reach a verdict.

Molloy, 48, admitted manslaughter on grounds of provocation at her retrial. She killed Mr Wilkin, 36, at their home in Brickhill, Bedford, on 21 January.

Luton Crown Court heard Mr Wilkin's mother, from Norfolk, say Molloy made her son happy and that was "important".

Molloy had originally claimed that Mr Wilkin - who died from a single stab wound - had run onto the knife.

Prosecutor Ben Gumpert said: "She now accepts that she deliberately stabbed him in a momentary loss of self-control."

Domestic violence

Her barrister Nicholas Valios, QC, said: "Even to this day she cannot believe this has happened. She loved him and wishes he was alive.

"It was he who initiated the violence and it was he who produced knives. It was he who held the balance of power both physically and psychologically."

Judge John Bevan, QC, told Molloy: "There is a history of some domestic violence but you loved him and stuck with him.

"Your loss of self-control was for a very brief period and you regretted his death immediately.

"But it is not a case of an abusive long-term bully, he had his good side."

In a statement read to the court Mr Wilkin's mother, Maureen Howling, from Downham Market in Norfolk, said: "I certainly don't hate her (Molloy). There was nothing to dislike about her.

"She made him happy and that was the most important thing."