David Pomphret found guilty of murdering his wife Anne Marie bludgeoning her to death with crowbar

Hen-pecked Barclays executive, 51, is found guilty of murdering wife, 49, who he battered to death with a crowbar after she mocked his erectile dysfunction

  • David Pomphret, 51, bludgeoned wife Ann Marie, 49, to death at their stables
  • Trial was told he suffered sustained mental and physical abuse at hands of wife
  • He pleaded guilty to manslaughter but was today found guilty of murder  

David Pomphret (pictured), 51, has been found guilty by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court of the murder of his wife Ann Marie, 49, who he bludgeoned to death with a crowbar last November 2

A ‘quiet’ hen-pecked banking executive has been found guilty of battering his wife to death with a crowbar after she mocked his erectile dysfunction.

David Pomphret, 51, bludgeoned his wife Ann Marie, 49, more than 30 times at the stables they owned near the family home in Winwick, Warrington on November 2 last year.   

The couple, who shared their home with their 18-year-old daughter, had gone to pick up tools to fix the shower but the ‘volatile’ wife began ‘ranting’ at him, he claimed.

Pomphret told his trial at Liverpool Crown Court that she ranted at him, called their daughter a ‘fat s***’, mocked his sexual performance and slapped him, which prompted him to snap and beat her to death in a ‘temporary loss of control’. 

Described as a ‘quiet man’, the jury was told Pomphret suffered physical and mental abuse at the hands of his wife, who struggled with depression, a cancer diagnosis and an autistic personality disorder. 

After he killed her, he dialled 999, saying he had found his wife lying in a pool of blood, ‘very dead’, adding: ‘There is brain and blood everywhere, and it looks like she has had her head beaten in.’ 

He burned his bloodstained clothes, disposed of the murder weapon, protested his innocence and was released on bail – but did not destroy his socks, which would ‘come back to haunt him’.

Victim: Ann Marrie Pomphret, 49

Victim: Ann Marrie Pomphret, 49

But he was re-arrested after police found his wife’s ‘airborne blood’ on his socks, a ‘huge mistake’ putting him at the scene of the crime.

He then had to change his story, the jury was told and admitted manslaughter, tearfully telling jurors he ‘killed the woman I loved’.  

Pomphret still denied pre-mediated murder, instead claiming a ‘special defence’ and blaming his wife’s behaviour for a temporary loss of control.

He told the court: ‘One of Marie’s favourite TV programmes was CSI and one of the things they always said is you can’t get rid of blood.’ 

But he was today convicted of murder by the jury today following a 10-day trial.

Pictured: The family's stables in Winwick, Warrington, where Pomphret murdered his wife

Pictured: The family’s stables in Winwick, Warrington, where Pomphret murdered his wife  

Pomphret gave no reaction as the chairman of the jury delivered the unanimous guilty verdict following 10 hours, 42 minutes of deliberations.

His daughter Megan watched from the public gallery, supported by friends and police officers.

Judge David Aubrey told Pomphret: ‘You have been convicted by the jury of the crime of the murder of your wife. There can only be one sentence – a sentence of life imprisonment.’

He said he would set the minimum term before the defendant is eligible for parole when he passes sentence next Tuesday.

The couple, who shared their home (pictured) with their 18-year-old daughter, had gone to pick up tools to fix the shower but the 'volatile' wife began 'ranting' at him, he claimed

The couple, who shared their home (pictured) with their 18-year-old daughter, had gone to pick up tools to fix the shower but the ‘volatile’ wife began ‘ranting’ at him, he claimed 

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