Husband guilty of stabbing wife

A Leicester man who stabbed his wife to death because he did not like the food she was cooking has been jailed for life.

Narinder Kaur Mann, one of the first female Asian magistrates in Leicester, was repeatedly stabbed in the stomach as her son Jaswinder watched in horror.

Gurdev Mann, 50, had denied murder, but was found guilty by a jury at Leicester Crown Court after just three-and-a-half hours of deliberations.

The court heard Mann been drinking when he walked into his home and demanded food from his wife in May 2002.

Mrs Mann rushed into the kitchen to cook for him but he complained the food was not fresh before grabbing the kitchen knife.

Their 23-year-old son, known as Michael, almost broke down as he told the jury how he watched his father stab his mother to death.

It highlights the plight of many women, hundreds probably thousands of women, who on a daily basis are suffering from domestic violence

Detective Superintendent Graham Thomas

The university student said: "I ran to him, holding his hand and pushed it up above his head to stop him stabbing her any more and he told me to let go of him."

Mann walked out of the house with the knife and dumped it in a nearby wheelie bin before going to the local shop, David Farrer QC, prosecuting, told the court.

Mrs Mann died at Leicester Royal Infirmary later that night.

Outside court, Mrs Mann's younger brother Parvinder Singh Gill said the family were glad justice had been done, and now wanted to be left alone to pick up the pieces.

Detective Superintendent Graham Thomas, of Leicestershire Police, described the killing as "a callous attack on a defenceless woman without any excuse."

He added: "I think it also highlights the plight of many women, hundreds probably thousands of women, who on a daily basis are suffering from domestic violence."