- Wife jailed for shooting, burning husband
- The Herald Sun
- 16/03/2009 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: The Rooster ( 258 articles in 2009 )
A VICTORIAN woman who shot her husband, burned his body and then concocted an intricate web of lies to conceal his death has been jailed for five years.
Margaret Uttley, 54, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter over the shooting death of her husband Stephen Henry Uttley at the family's farm in Tarneit, west of Melbourne, on October 11, 2000.
She had earlier pleaded not guilty to murder but changed her plea shortly after the trial started two weeks ago.
The jury heard Uttley shot her husband with a shotgun and buried him in a fernery on the couple's property before later burning his body on a rubbish pile.
She then lied about the whereabouts of her husband of 25 years, telling friends, family and the police that he had moved to Alice Springs.
Uttley was arrested after a police search uncovered human remains at the family's property in August 2007.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Robert Osborne said the killing was a "tragic criminal mistake in a life which has otherwise much to commend it''.
He ordered Uttley serve a minimum of two years before being eligible for parole.
The Supreme Court trial heard that Uttley shot her husband in the head with a shotgun after he confronted her with the weapon in the early hours of October 11, 2000.
Her defence lawyer, Philip Dunn, QC, said his client was "catapulted'' into the situation by her husband's drunkenness, adding that the mother-of-four was in bed asleep when Mr Uttley arrived home and woke her up armed with a gun.
Margaret Uttley, 54, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter over the shooting death of her husband Stephen Henry Uttley at the family's farm in Tarneit, west of Melbourne, on October 11, 2000.
She had earlier pleaded not guilty to murder but changed her plea shortly after the trial started two weeks ago.
The jury heard Uttley shot her husband with a shotgun and buried him in a fernery on the couple's property before later burning his body on a rubbish pile.
She then lied about the whereabouts of her husband of 25 years, telling friends, family and the police that he had moved to Alice Springs.
Uttley was arrested after a police search uncovered human remains at the family's property in August 2007.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Robert Osborne said the killing was a "tragic criminal mistake in a life which has otherwise much to commend it''.
He ordered Uttley serve a minimum of two years before being eligible for parole.
The Supreme Court trial heard that Uttley shot her husband in the head with a shotgun after he confronted her with the weapon in the early hours of October 11, 2000.
Her defence lawyer, Philip Dunn, QC, said his client was "catapulted'' into the situation by her husband's drunkenness, adding that the mother-of-four was in bed asleep when Mr Uttley arrived home and woke her up armed with a gun.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25192554-5005961,00.html
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