Hannegret Donnelly: Abusive wife who hit husband with rolling pin jailed for murder

An abusive wife who killed her husband after repeatedly hitting him over the head with a rolling pin has been jailed for life.

Hannegret Donnelly was told she must serve at least 16 years in prison after she was found guilty of murdering her husband Christopher at the home they shared with their four children.

Police said that the former midwife, who was born in Germany, had controlled the 55-year-old’s life through “threats and beatings” – and the “systematic domestic abuse” had weakened his body to the point of death.

Mr Donnelly contracted pneumonia after suffering 78 visible injuries, including a cauliflower ear, as well as internal injuries including fractures to his shoulder blade, spine and neck.

He lay dead on the bathroom floor overnight before she dialled 999 on 31 March last year – and she told officers that she had previously struck her husband over the head with a rolling pin.

Detectives found his blood on furniture, walls and ceilings throughout their house in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, as a result of the repeated beatings.

Sentencing Donnelly, also 55, Mrs Justice Yip said: “The circumstances are unusual, involving repeated incidents of violence over a prolonged period.

“It is clear Christopher experienced real physical suffering for a long period before his death.

“It is inconceivable he didn’t also suffer mentally.”

The Donnellys had been married for 23 years – and they had lived an isolated existence with their children, who were aged between 13 and 21 at the time of their father’s death, the jury was told.

Kingston Crown Court heard that the family had shunned modern technology, including mobile phones.

The judge told Donnelly: “Your children must have witnessed your repeated violence towards their father and were present when he died.”

Eloise Marshall QC, prosecuting, said Mr Donnelly had become disabled by January 2018 and was unable to walk – but his wife had continued to inflict “mental and physical suffering” until the time of his death.

The prosecutor added: “We know that, and by her own admission, Hannegret Donnelly continued to assault him during that time.

“She said these repeated injuries were committed with a rolling pin. It is unclear, and the Crown can’t say, if that was the only implement used.”

Donnelly had told police that “something strange” in the house had affected her and her husband’s health – and she even suggested that he “welcomed the beatings” at times.

In an interview with police, she said: “It’s more like this helping him to come out of some peculiar trance. I can’t say it’s a trance but it’s sort of peculiar, feeling strangely.

“No, there isn’t justification for [hitting him] but it was like trying to sort of reset something in him… It was just feeling offended that he didn’t take what I said seriously.”

Tim Maloney QC, defending, said during the trial: “There was no clear intention to kill.”

In a victim impact statement, Mr Donnelly’s estranged brother Peter said: “My brother and his wife purported to be Christians, as I am… I must be willing to forgive.

“What I cannot do is speak for anyone else on this matter.

“Hearing most of the evidence presented in court leaves the deep impression there are three groups of people most harmed – my brother, his children and the self-inflicted harm to Hannegret.”

Following the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Felicity Parker of Thames Valley Police said the case highlights that men can also be victims of domestic violence.

Outside court, she added: “It also highlights the harm coercive control can cause.

“Hannegret told us in interview that she beat Christopher not in self-defence but because he did things she didn’t like – talked about the wrong subject, was disinterested or gave the wrong look.

“Hannegret may not have thought the first hit of Christopher would end up in murder, but it did.

“Christopher without doubt suffered significantly due to her violence and she failed to call for an ambulance when it was most needed.”

(c) Sky News 2019: Hannegret Donnelly: Abusive wife who hit husband with rolling pin jailed for murder