Man gets life for stabbing wife in heart during row over pet dog

A 47-YEAR-OLD man who stabbed his wife to death in a row over their pet dog was jailed for life yesterday.

Steven Morgan was determined to get rid of the animal because of its unfortunate sanitary habits.

But his wife, Rebecca, 34, insisted it should stay with them at their home in Port Talbot, South Wales.

Morgan stabbed her once in the heart with a kitchen knife during a “moment of anger” on July 8 last after a lengthy row, then slit his wrists.

The couple had been married for 16 years and had two sons together, aged eight and 13.

Morgan later admitted tensions had been “bubbling” between them following his wife’s affair with his brother two years before.

His trial at Swansea Crown Court heard he was unhappy with the dog because it was eating its own faeces. He was found guilty of murder by a jury.

He was sentenced yesterday at the Old Bailey in London, where he received a life term with a minimum of 13-and-a-half years.

Mr Justice Saunders said: “This is a truly tragic case. As a result of this defendant’s actions Rebecca is dead. His two sons had lost their mother and they are going to lose their father for a significant period of time.

“During the course of that argument he picked up a vegetable knife either from the sitting room or the kitchen and he stabbed his wife in the heart. The only other person in the house at the time was the defendant’s eight-year-old son. He had to attempt to help his mother as she lay dying and he also cleared up the blood in the house which came not only from the mother but from the defendant.

“This was an appallingly traumatic experience for this child.”

The judge accepted it was an “unpremeditated and unplanned attack” which took place in a brief “moment of anger”.

Afterwards a relative said: “The number of years he spends in prison is irrelevant in terms of the effect he had on the family.

“He lied all the way through the trial and we still don’t know what happened that night, how Rebecca died, or why she died. He should be honest with us about what happened on the night so we know.”