A retired accountant who stabbed her husband to death called police two months before the killing to report that he had grabbed and threatened her with a poker, a jury has been told.
Penelope Jackson, 66, showed police who went to the home she shared with former army Lt Col David Jackson, 78, a bruise on her arm and spoke in a “wavering” voice, the court heard.
An abuse questionnaire filled out by an officer who attended the scene said that Jackson had not felt isolated, depressed or stalked and – when police telephoned her a few days later – Jackson said she and her husband had sorted out their problem.
The jury at Bristol crown court has been told that Jackson stabbed her husband to death in the kitchen of their bungalow in Berrow, Somerset, in February. In a 999 call that has been played to the jury, he can be heard screaming as a knife is allegedly driven into him.
The defendant has admitted manslaughter but denies murder. Jurors have heard a note was found from her, claiming she had “taken so much abuse over the years”.
On Monday the jury heard Jackson called police in December 2020 after her husband of 24 years picked up a poker and smashed a conservatory window.
It was the day after he had an operation to have his pacemaker battery replaced and she had locked him in the conservatory to calm down after they had a row about how to use a remote control.
In her 999 call to police, she said: “I have just got bruises up my arms. He grabbed me and threatened me. I don’t want to say any more. It’s not like him. He’s just mad. I can’t explain.” She added: “It’s Christmas and it should not be happening.”
During the call, Jackson also said her husband had told her he would “use” the poker on her but she added: “He did not mean it.”
When police arrived, an officer told her the incident would be recorded as an assault and the couple should not be under the same roof that night. On whether the matter should be taken further, she said: “Part of me wants to make him pay for it but that’s spite.”
She said Jackson was not so controlling that he would stop her from seeing people, but added: “But he is a pain in the arse.”
Clare Wade QC, defending, said Jackson was “wringing her hands and her voice was wavering at times” when she spoke to the police.
At one point she pulled up the sleeve of her nightgown to show that a small round bruise was developing on her forearm.
When police telephoned her a few days later, Jackson said she and her husband had sorted out their problem and he had turned the voltage on his pacemaker battery down on medical advice. He was back to his normal self and had no recollection of what had happened.
The trial continues.
