Husband accused of murdering wife emotionally recalls 'failed suicide pact'

A husband on trial for murder who told police he'd killed his wife in a failed suicide pact held back tears as he said 'I wouldn’t harm a hair on her head' without her 'say so'. Graham Mansfield, 73, denies the murder and manslaughter of his wife, 71-year-old Dyanne Mansfield, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Mr Mansfield, who ran a gardening business after a previous career as a Manchester Airport baggage handler, says he and his wife of more than 40 years had agreed that they would both end their lives when it got 'too bad' for Mrs Mansfield and she'd 'had enough'. She was found slumped in a chair in their garden at their home in Canterbury Road, Hale, while Mr Mansfield was discovered by police lay in a pool of blood in the kitchen.

Mr Mansfield told police that after drinking two whiskies for 'Dutch courage', he slit his wife's throat then tried to kill himself. Mr Mansfield said he'd then tried to cut his throat, then slit his wrists before taking some tablets.

Mr Mansfield is expected to argue that he is not guilty of murder because he was acting to fulfil a 'genuine' suicide pact, and that he is not guilty of manslaughter as his actions were 'lovingly undertaken' to avoid his wife experiencing 'further severe pain and suffering'. Jurors at Manchester Crown Court heard an interview when Mr Mansfield was questioned by officers two days after his wife's death.

He said their lives had been 'turned upside down' after Mrs Mansfield's cancer diagnosis. "We had a perfect relationship, we loved one another," he said. "We wanted to live with one another for the rest of our lives and forever if possible.

"It all changed when Dyanne was diagnosed with cancer." He said after a meeting with a doctor at The Christie