Trials
BREAKING
Life Sentence for Beryl Pyke's Murder
Michael Pyke, 79, was sentenced Friday at Hove Crown Court to life in prison, with a minimum of 15 years, for murdering his wife of 50 years, Beryl Pyke, 84, at their home in Aldwick.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
The guilty plea and Friday's life sentence are the judgment for Beryl Pyke's death. A 15-year minimum is the earliest release can even be considered, and at 79 that date may never come. The length of the term does not change what the court found about how she was killed.
Michael Pyke, 79, was sentenced Friday at Hove Crown Court to life in prison for murdering his wife, Beryl Pyke. Judge Jeremy Gold KC ordered a minimum term of 15 years. Pyke, a former hairdresser from Aldwick, pleaded guilty at Brighton Crown Court on Oct. 19.
Police found Beryl Pyke, 84, dead on May 31 at the home they shared on Langley Grove. She had been stabbed 11 times. The wounds were to her front, her back, her abdomen, her arms, and her scalp, and the fatal blow punctured the sac around her heart. Pyke told a cousin he had killed her the night before. Officers found him downstairs, drinking and watching television. They found a knife in his bedside cabinet and blood-stained clothing in the laundry basket.
The couple had been married for 50 years. They were separated and still lived in the same house. The court heard that he had abused her for at least 30 years of the marriage. He had 47 previous convictions, including 13 for violence. In 2007 he was jailed for 10 months after stabbing a neighbor who stepped in during an attack on her. She later asked for restraining orders against him to be lifted because she feared he would have nowhere to live.
Judge Gold told him: "You have not tried to either explain or excuse your actions. I have no doubt it was your intention to kill her and you did so showing no mercy." His lawyer, Martin Rutherford KC, told the court that Pyke expects to die in prison.
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