Farmer told medics he killed wife

Jane Wilson was a keen sportswoman

A farmer drove his tractor over his wife's head before telling medics he had "killed her", a court has heard.

Jane Wilson, 53, was found dead at her farm in Kirkandrews-on-Eden, near Carlisle, on 1 December.

Her husband Robert, 40, who denies murder, is accused of attempting to portray her death as an accident.

Medic Iain Nellis told Carlisle Crown Court on Wednesday, that the farmer had said cattle knocked his wife into the path of the tractor.

The emergency care practitioner, who arrived at the scene after a 999 call, said: "He said he killed her and he repeated that over and over. It was very difficult to get him to say anything else initially.

"He was standing near the entrance to the barn and was repeating that over and over. He was tearful."

Uniform burned

Mr Nellis said the farmer told him he believed the cattle got spooked and knocked his wife into the path of the tractor and he had "felt a bump" as he drove the tractor forward with hay on it.

The prosecution allege Mr Wilson had a lover and wanted to be free of his wife and claim her life-insurance to pay off debts.

Mrs Wilson's daughter, Sharon Kennedy, told the court her suspicions were roused after the death when she found a pile of cards in her step-father's bedroom from a woman called Cathy.

Miss Kennedy said she also discovered an insurance document with the name changed from her mother's to Cathy McNeil, and her mother's will.

She said her step-father burnt her mother's underwear and her Post Office uniform so that, in his words, the binmen wouldn't be "perving" at it.

Pc Michael Sampson of Cumbria Police told prosecutor Brian Cummings QC that Mr Wilson was very upset in the aftermath of the death.

But when the officer returned a month later Mr Wilson was talking about his future, and how he might go and live in France and renovate a farmhouse, the court heard.

The trial at Carlisle Crown continues.