Wife woke up bully husband to shoot him dead, jury told

Helen Lawson, 62, fired two cartridges from the double-barrelled weapon at her "bully" husband Geoffrey at point-blank range.

After shooting Mr Lawson, 61, shortly after 3am, she phoned the police and told them 'I've just shot my husband,' adding that it was not an accident.

Officers rushed to the couple's 200,000 cottage in the village of Wellow, near Freshwater, Isle of Wight, where they found Mr Lawson lying face down on their double bed.

A Beretta shotgun was lying by the side of the bed with both barrels discharged.

Lawson, originally from Glasgow, was arrested at the scene. When later told that her husband had died she replied: "Good."

When interviewed, she told officers that she had deliberately woken her husband before she shot him, and said that his last words were, 'Oh Helen, no.' She added: "I had had enough. He was hell to live with because he was an alcoholic. He could be like Jekyll and Hyde and his mood swings were terrible."

The court heard that the Lawsons had married in late 2004 and moved to the Isle of Wight the following year.

In the weeks and months leading up to the retired electrician's death, the couple had argued constantly and had come to blows on two occasions.

Describing the events before the shooting, prosecutor Nicholas Haggan, QC, said: "The defendant had collected the keys to the gun cabinet, which was in the loft, opened it and taken out one of her two shotguns and some cartridges."

Mr Haggan said that afterwards, Lawson was taken to a police station, where she took off her wedding ring, threw it on the floor and told officers to put it in the bin. She was interviewed at length and admitted to officers that she had drunk two glasses of brandy and two glasses of white wine that night.

She said the alcohol had given her the "courage" to pull the trigger.

Mr Haggan then read an extract from Lawson's police interview in which she said:

"He could be a lovely man, but when he had a drink, he turned into a bully and he was nasty."

Asked why she went to get the shotgun, she replied: "I had too much to drink. I really was angry. I had never thought about doing this before.

"I just called his name to make sure that he was awake. I was too close to miss him. I had had enough – he was hell to live with. I loved him, but I hated him even more."

After searching the house, police found a mobile phone containing a text message drafted by Lawson half an hour before she shot her husband.

In the message, to her two children from a previous marriage, she wrote: "This is one evil man. Sorry Paul and Kim. I love you both always xxx."

Although Lawson told police her husband had been drinking and had gone to bed in "a bad mood," toxicology reports said he was "as good as sober".

Mr Haggan told the jury that many couples argued, but added: "The remedy is divorce, not to take a gun and kill the offending partner."

The court heard Lawson had held a licence for the guns since 1997 and was a keen clay pigeon shooter.

Lawson denies murder at Winchester Crown Court. She admits manslaughter on the grounds of provocation and diminished responsibility.

The trial continues.

999 CALL

THE jury was played a recording of Helen Lawson's 999 call made immediately after she shot her husband.

In it, her clearly distressed voice can be heard saying: "I just shot my husband."

Control room supervisor Laura Parsonage asked her to give her name and address so officers could make their way there. The line went dead, but minutes later Ms Parsonage called back and asked Lawson to tell her what happened. Lawson replied: "Do you think this is a joke? I just shot my f****** husband."

Minutes later, in another phone call, Lawson was told there was a police unit in place outside her property. She came out and was handcuffed and arrested.