This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-48554239
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Sally Challen: No fresh trial over husband murder | Sally Challen: No fresh trial over husband murder |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| An abused woman will not face a retrial for murdering her husband with a hammer after prosecutors accepted her manslaughter plea. | An abused woman will not face a retrial for murdering her husband with a hammer after prosecutors accepted her manslaughter plea. |
| Sally Challen, 65, was found guilty of murdering 61-year-old Richard in Surrey and jailed for life in 2011. | Sally Challen, 65, was found guilty of murdering 61-year-old Richard in Surrey and jailed for life in 2011. |
| Her conviction was quashed in February and she was due to face a retrial for his murder next month. | Her conviction was quashed in February and she was due to face a retrial for his murder next month. |
| Prosecutors at the Old Bailey accepted the lesser charge and she walked free due to time already served. | |
| Her son David said the family were "overjoyed" the manslaughter plea had been accepted, adding it had "brought an end to the suffering we have endured together for the past nine years". | Her son David said the family were "overjoyed" the manslaughter plea had been accepted, adding it had "brought an end to the suffering we have endured together for the past nine years". |
| The guilty manslaughter plea was accepted following a psychiatric report that concluded Mrs Challen was suffering an "adjustment disorder", Caroline Carberry QC said. | The guilty manslaughter plea was accepted following a psychiatric report that concluded Mrs Challen was suffering an "adjustment disorder", Caroline Carberry QC said. |
| Mrs Challen, from Claygate, who never denied killing her husband, said she had suffered decades of emotional abuse from her former car dealer husband. | Mrs Challen, from Claygate, who never denied killing her husband, said she had suffered decades of emotional abuse from her former car dealer husband. |
| Her conviction for his murder was overturned by the Court of Appeal following a campaign led by her sons. who walked into court with her this morning. | Her conviction for his murder was overturned by the Court of Appeal following a campaign led by her sons. who walked into court with her this morning. |
| Son James, in a statement read to court, said the brothers had "lost a father" and did not "seek to justify our mother's actions," but added she "does not deserve to be punished further". | Son James, in a statement read to court, said the brothers had "lost a father" and did not "seek to justify our mother's actions," but added she "does not deserve to be punished further". |
| During February's two-day appeal hearing, the court heard evidence relating to Mrs Challen's state of mind at the time of the killing and the issue of "coercive control". | During February's two-day appeal hearing, the court heard evidence relating to Mrs Challen's state of mind at the time of the killing and the issue of "coercive control". |
| Coercive control describes a pattern of behaviour by an abuser to harm, punish or frighten their victim and became a criminal offence in England and Wales in December 2015. | Coercive control describes a pattern of behaviour by an abuser to harm, punish or frighten their victim and became a criminal offence in England and Wales in December 2015. |
| The couple, who separated in 2009, were attempting to reconcile in August 2010 when Mrs Challen attacked her husband as he ate lunch at the kitchen table in their former marital home in Claygate, her original trial heard. | The couple, who separated in 2009, were attempting to reconcile in August 2010 when Mrs Challen attacked her husband as he ate lunch at the kitchen table in their former marital home in Claygate, her original trial heard. |
| After attacking him, she drove 70 miles to Beachy Head in East Sussex, where she admitted to chaplains trying to coax her away from the cliff edge that she had killed her husband of 31 years. | After attacking him, she drove 70 miles to Beachy Head in East Sussex, where she admitted to chaplains trying to coax her away from the cliff edge that she had killed her husband of 31 years. |
| Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram | Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram |