Jury retires in trial of woman accused of murdering husband

A jury has retired to consider verdicts in the trial of a horse expert accused of murdering her husband at their Devon home.

Christine Rawle, 69, is charged with killing Ian Rawle, 72, by stabbing him in the back with a knife at their property in Braunton on August 21, 2022.

Exeter Crown Court has heard Mr Rawle then followed his wife of 29 years for a hundred yards telling her to remove the knife, before collapsing and dying from the wound.

Prosecutors claim the case is “as clear a case of murder as you are likely to find”, and say Rawle stabbed her husband in a “fit of temper” during an argument.

Sean Brunton KC, prosecuting, described how the couple had a dysfunctional marriage and likened them to the Roald Dahl characters The Twits.

But Rawle’s defence team say she was acting in self-defence, fearing Mr Rawle would kill her, following years of physical and psychological abuse from him.

Clare Wade KC, representing Rawle, detailed a number of occasions over the couple’s marriage when her client had phoned police in an attempt to get help and said the case was “anything but simple”.

Shortly before the fatal stabbing, the couple had argued about selling off a small piece of land on their property.

Judge James Adkin sent the jury out to consider their verdicts in the case on Thursday afternoon.

The trial continues.