Durham man guilty of the murder of his estranged wife

Harry Turner used two knives to deliver the fatal blows when they met up in her daughter’s County Durham home.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how Turner attacked his wife after she received a text message from the taxi driver she was having an affair with.

The 55-year-old claimed he ‘lost control’ when the mother-of-four told him he would never see his grandchildren again.

Sally Turner

Jurors had heard how Turner had already admitted the manslaughter of his 50-year-old wife but maintained that it was the whispered threat which tipped him over the edge.

Mrs Turner’s lifeless body was discovered in the house on Cuthbert Avenue, Durham, when she failed to pick up her disabled granddaughter when she was brought home from school on June 22, 2022.

Craig Hassall KC, prosecuting, told the jury how Mrs Turner was discovered in a pool of blood with her husband’s wedding ring discarded on the floor and he inflicted repeated knife wounds to her head and body.

He said: “One blow had been delivered with such force that bent the knife blade rendering it useless as a weapon.”

Harry Turner (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Mrs Turner suffered 78 wounds, including defence injuries, from at least 68 knife blows with the deepest being 11cm deep and one was so powerful that it broke her shoulder blade while another broke one of her ribs.

The couple were the legal guardians of Mrs Turner’s two grandchildren and had been having amicable conversations in the days leading up to her death in June 2022 at her daughter's home.

Harry Turner being arrested following the murder of his estranged wife, Sally (Image: Durham Constabulary)

The judge heard how Turner feared he would never see his granddaughters again after the couple split up.

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During his evidence, he told jurors how the last thing he remembers is his wife, Sally, whispering to him that he "will never see the girls again".

Turner said the next thing he remembers was standing over the fatally injured woman with a knife in his hands but no memory of how she suffered so many stab wounds.

Turner denied that the affair was what caused his reaction and maintained it was concern about losing contact with his two granddaughters.

Mrs Justice Lambert told the defendant that he will be sentenced tomorrow morning (Friday, May 24) and remanded him in custody.

Turner, of Tiree Close, Brandon, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but was found guilty of murder following his trial.