Man killed wife in ‘overcooked’ dinner row

A TELEVISION location manager who killed his wife during an argument after complaining that she had overcooked his birthday dinner was convicted of manslaughter yesterday.

A jury at Warwick Crown Court took two hours and 22 minutes to find Jonathan Wicks guilty of killing his wife Sarah during a row following a dinner party.

A four-day trial heard that Sarah Wicks, 49, died after suffering a ruptured artery in her neck on May 3 last year at her marital home in Stourton, south Warwickshire.

Her husband, who denied manslaughter, told the trial he struck out only once in self-defence after plates were thrown at him.

But a jury of eight women and four men accepted the prosecution’s claim that although Wicks had not intended to kill his wife, he acted unlawfully in punching or slapping her.

Wicks, of The Old Chapel, Stourton, was on bail throughout his trial, but was remanded in custody after being found guilty and will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on a date to be fixed.

During the trial, jurors were told the couple argued about several issues during the day of the fatal incident, including over a joint of beef which had been cooked for guests.

Prosecutor James Burbidge, QC, told the jury at the start of the trial that the couple, who had no children, were happily married and had no history of domestic violence.

Burbidge said: “The prosecution accept that when Mr Wicks killed his wife he did not intend to kill her, but we say he committed an unlawful act.

“The act was a punch or a slap, but we say it was unlawful and it was violent, and he had no lawful reason to do it.”

Wicks had worked on BBC1’s Holby City, hit comedy Absolutely Fabulous and Waking The Dead. The dinner guests drank six bottles of wine and champagne, but Wicks complained his wife overcooked the beef.