The brother of a woman killed by her husband in a suicide pact says he was in a similar situation with his own wife but ‘couldn’t take that last step’.
Peter Higson has voiced his support for Graham Mansfield, who walked free from court on Thursday after being convicted of the manslaughter. The 73-year-old killed his terminally ill wife Dyanne by slitting her throat before unsuccessfully trying to kill himself.
In an interview with the Manchester Evening News at his home in Hale , Mr Mansfield told how his wife was informed she had stage four lung cancer in October 2020, just weeks after they'd celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.
The suicide pact was first raised when they returned home from hospital. Mrs Mansfield, 71, asked her husband if he would be willing to kill her if things got 'too bad'.
But by March 2021, Mrs Mansfield was in unbearable pain, telling her husband, 'I've had enough, I can’t take anymore'. On March 22 they drove to Buxton and Macclesfield to find a 'quiet' and 'convenient' place to carry out the pact, but instead decided to use their garden the following day.
Mr Mansfield, a retired baggage handler at Manchester Airport, had already begun making preparations. He'd cancelled the papers, the milk delivery and the window cleaner, emptied the freezer and tidied the house.
Their last night together was spent 'crying and telling each other how much we loved one another', he said. At around 5pm the next day, Mrs Mansfield had a glass of red wine while Mr Mansfield had a can of lager and a whisky and lemonade.
It was cold so they both put their coats on and, after Mr Mansfield had locked up the house on Canterbury Road, made their way down to the bottom of the garden where two chairs were arranged next to each other. He asked 'Are you ready?', to which his wife replied 'Yes, I won't make a noise'. He then walked behind the chair she was sat in and slit her throat with a Stanley knife.
Mr Mansfield then tried to take his own life, but passed out before waking up in the kitchen the next morning. He called 999, was arrested and told police everything. Mr Mansfield was eventually charged with murder, which he denied.
Jurors took 90 minutes to return the unanimous verdict following a four-day trial. The judge sentenced him to a two-year suspended prison sentence after saying he was 'entirely satisfied' that Mr Mansfield had acted out of 'love' and 'compassion' towards his spouse.
Now Dyanne Mansfield’s brother, Peter Higson, has spoken out about the case – saying he was in a similar situation with his own wife 10 years ago.
Speaking on ITV Granada today, he said: “I was in a similar situation about 10 years ago with my wife who had an incurable disease. She had muscular dystrophy and she died of cancer and asked me to end her life because she couldn’t stand the pain any longer. I couldn’t take that next step, but Graham did.”
Following the trial, Mr Mansfield admitted to feeling 'elation' when the sentence was passed, but believes the case should have never gone to court in the first place. He has since called for euthanasia to be legalised in the UK, revealing they would have considered going to Dignitas in Switzerland if the Covid lockdown hadn't stopped international travel.
Mr Mansfield said: "We have done nothing wrong. We didn't need permission from other people. It was our decision. I killed her with love."
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