Life for 'devil' man who butchered wife in front of children

Published on Friday 28 August 2009 22:49

A MAN who murdered his wife in front of their children after she left him for another man has been was jailed for life.

Allan Tannahill repeatedly stabbed Lorna Tannahill in the garage of the family home as their son and daughter looked on in horror.

A court heard that Tannahill, 57, a joiner, had a history of mental health problems and he told detectives after the killing that the devil had entered him. It was also said that Tannahill was a strongly principled and moral person who had felt betrayed by his wife of 30 years.

Sentencing Tannahill, of Bourtreehill, Irvine, Ayrshire, at the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Turnbull said the offence was a "tragedy of immeasurable proportions" for other members of the family. The couple had four children, aged 18 to 27.

"The fact it was done while your younger son and daughter were present in the house, and partially in their presence, will leave them with emotional and mental burdens for the rest of their lives," the judge added.

Lord Turnbull said the killing had been committed with "horrible brutality", but he recognised that Tannahill had been under enormous emotional strain.

He ordered Tannahill to serve a minimum of 11 years and 11 months before he could apply for parole. It would have been 14 years, but he had pleaded guilty and was entitled to a discount.

Mrs Tannahill, 47, a care worker, had told her husband a few days before the murder that she was leaving him for another man who lived in Tenerife, where she regularly visited friends. She moved out of their home and went to stay with her mother in Kilmarnock.

On 18 February, Tannahill had been at a meeting a psychiatric nurse, and went home to discuss with his wife the sale of a caravan they owned.

He asked his daughter, Amy, 18, to put on music in her room and not to come downstairs, as he wanted to speak to her mother in private. A short time later, Amy and her brother, Kris, 22, heard screaming.

"They ran down the stairs and followed the screaming to the garage. As they entered, they witnessed their father leaning over the deceased. He was repeatedly stabbing her with a large, black-handled knife," said the advocate-depute, Keith Stewart.

Tannahill had shouted: "I will see you in hell."

Mr Stewart added: "Kris seized hold of the accused to pull him away. He took the knife and threw it to the floor."

Amy ran from the garage in shock, while her brother tried to give first aid to their mother. She had suffered 17 stab wounds, ten in and around the heart.

Tannahill told police the devil had taken his wife, and he had prayed to God to give him strength, but the devil had been too strong. He said he had "destroyed" his wife "to save her soul".

Defence counsel, Ian Duguid, QC, said: "He views himself as a moral person, and feels in some way betrayed by his wife's actions, but he would not want the court to conclude that he does not accept his guilt in this, as he most certainly does," he said.