Edward Turpin, a retired butcher, took a knife from his kitchen and attacked his wife Joan in bed at their home in Orpington, Kent, last September. He then called 999 and told the operator: “I don’t want to stop the bleeding. We want to die.” Mrs Turpin, who has lost her sight, has diabetes and needs a catheter, had become increasingly dependent on her husband before the attack, the Old Bailey was told. The couple had been married for nearly 70 years, but Turpin began to feel he “could no longer cope” when it came to looking after her, jurors heard. Giving evidence, Turpin said the “last thing” he wanted was to hurt his wife. He was cleared of attempted murder but found guilty of a lesser offense of wounding earlier this month, on the basis that he was reckless as to the injuries he might suffer. On Wednesday he was sentenced in absentia because he is in hospital with pneumonia. Mrs Turpin, who is also 90, has been in a nursing home since the stabbing and can only speak to her husband by phone. The victim suffered a collapsed lung Alistair Richardson, prosecuting, read a statement prepared by a care worker on Mrs Turpin’s behalf. He said that while her injuries had healed well, the “psychological impact is huge” and her “whole life has been turned upside down”. He added: “Joan is very wary of strangers after the knife attack and needs constant reassurance from people she knows. Joan was extremely stressed and anxious as the trial approached. “He is fully aware that Edward broke the law and what has happened since then is a consequence of his actions.” Richardson said Turpin’s culpability was high after he inflicted so much trauma on his “extremely vulnerable” wife. One of the injuries caused a collapsed lung and it was “lucky” he did not die, he said. Mitigating, Simon Gledhill told the court that Turpin was “overwhelmingly sorry” for what happened. “He has expressed on more than one occasion a strong desire to hug his wife and tell her he’s sorry,” she said. “Too proud” to ask for help Judge Alexia Duran sentenced Turpin to two years in prison, suspended for two years. He said he was just “too proud” to ask family members for help looking after his wife. Turpin was “overcome with the stress and responsibility of taking care of his wife” at the time of the attack, he said. Judge Duran added: “Mr Turpin will never be allowed to live independently with his wife again.” He addressed him in his absence saying: “You are a man of impeccable good character. You were a butcher in Smithfield market for 30 years. “Police inquiries supported Mrs. Turpin’s claim that you never laid a hand on her in all the years of your marriage.” He noted his “strong personal mitigation” but said: “But your actions cannot go unpunished. What happened that morning in September should never have happened.”
