Graham Mansfield, 73, is on trial for the murder of his wife, Dyanne, 71, at their home in Hale, Greater Manchester, on March 24 last year.
Mrs Mansfield was suffering from terminal lung cancer and had been told in Oct 2020 that she had two years to live, jurors at Manchester Crown Court heard. "She said: 'There is nothing wrong with you, there is no reason.' I said: 'Dyanne, I can't live without you.'" "We were very fortunate. We both liked doing the same things: cycling, gardening, walking, playing badminton."
The couple had settled on the garden of their home in Canterbury Road as the “venue” for their suicide pact, Mr Mansfield told police, so the neighbours would not see their bodies.On the morning of Mar 24, he phoned 999 and informed the operator he had killed his wife at 9pm the night before, but it had “all gone wrong” when he tried to take his own life.