A British man who killed his wife in an “act of love” has been cleared of murder charges and will not go to jail. Graham Mansfield, 73, said he slit the throat of 71-year-old Dyanne Mansfield after she asked him to take her life “when things get bad for me,” Metro reports. He told police he obliged her wishes because he cared for her so deeply.
- Mansfield insisted he took no pleasure in taking his wife’s life. He told Manchester Crown Court that his wife’s request became “the saddest words he had ever heard” but that he had to perform a final “act of love” to allow her to pass away peacefully and no longer be in pain. He also claimed that he only agreed if he could also take his own life as he “couldn’t live without her.”
- Mansfield did try to take his own life. He was discovered lying in a pool of blood at their home while his wife’s body was found slumped in a chair at the bottom of the garden. Police and EMTs rushed to the house after the man dialed 911 on March 24, 2021. There, they discovered a suicide note apologizing to the family for “burdening” them and claiming “there is no other way.” He added: “We made a pact that when it got too bad for Dyanne we would end it,” it read. “I couldn’t bear to live without Dyanne and as the months progressed and as things got worse, it only reinforced our decision that the time has arrived. We hope you all understand. Don’t get too upset. We have had a wonderful and happy life together.”
- The couple’s family, friends, and neighbors showed up to court to speak on his behalf. In court, they praised Mansfield’s “unswerving devotion” to his wife. Mansfield himself denied murder and pleaded not guilty to manslaughter on the grounds that the crime was “undertaken through duress of circumstances.”
- A jury cleared Mansfield of murder in less than two hours. The 10 members of the jury did, however, find him guilty of manslaughter. A judge handed down a two-year suspended sentence given the “exceptional” nature of the case.
