Wife jailed for nine years after stabbing fourth husband to death with pair of scissors because he refused to tidy home

A woman has been jailed for nine years for killing her fourth husband after fatally wounding him with a pair of scissors when he ignored her command to tidy the house. Sandra Clinch looked to the floor as the jury returned their verdict, dismissing her suggestion that American car enthusiast Alan Clinch’s death was 'a tragic accident'.

 

'Red mist' descended: Sandra Clinch (left) stabbed her husband Alan Clinch (right) to death with a pair of scissors after flying into a rage when he refused to help her tidy the house

The jury of six men and six women found Clinch guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and not guilty of Mr Clinch’s murder. The 49-year-old was said to have flown into a rage after her 'quiet' husband did not immediately stop tending to the garden and return inside their cottage in the village of Darite, Liskeard, in Cornwall to tidy up. The couple were expecting guests for Sunday lunch and Clinch had asked her husband for help, but he had apparently told her to 'shut up'.

Truro Crown Court heard the fatal wound was caused by dress-making scissors, which were embedded up to 4in (12cm) into Mr Clinch’s chest, having first pierced two layers of clothing before puncturing his heart and a lung. The mother-of-five told police she had thrown the scissors at her husband, but later changed her account, saying he had walked into the line of fire. Finally, she told the jury she was unable to recall whether or not she let the scissors go from her hand.

 

'Purely fanciful': The mother-of-five told police she had thrown the scissors at her husband, but later changed her account, saying he had walked into them by accident

Clinch had a history of violence against her former partners and children, and her eldest son told the court she would go into a 'rage' when the 'red mist' descended. She had hysterically begged medics to save her 48-year-old husband, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival at hospital, around midday on May 13 this year. Clinch had denied murder, and Judge Graham Cottle asked the jury to consider a second charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility or lack of control. Sentencing Clinch, he said: 'You have been convicted by the jury of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. 'Your principal defence of an accident was nothing more than purely fanciful. 

'Kind and gentle': Clinch said she had never intended to seriously injure Mr Clinch, described by friends as a quiet man who was known locally for his charity work

The jury were satisfied that you were suffering from a personality disorder at the time you killed and it was that personality disorder that affected your ability to exercise self-control. It has been a regular feature during your life. The evidence established beyond doubt you have been aggressive, abusive and violent towards previous partners as well as your children. You stabbed a previous partner with a carving knife and assaulted your children on a regular basis. He (Mr Clinch) was a meek, mild-mannered and gentle man, who simply took what you handed out. This time, when your temper exploded, you killed somebody: your husband. I have no doubt on that evidence that you intended to hurt him badly and you embedded scissors in his heart and immediately after you regretted your actions. The sentence I will pass upon you is that of nine years’ imprisonment.'

 

Pacifier: Clinch told how her husband would try to defuse arguments by putting his arms around hers and give her a kiss

Judge Cottle told Clinch that while in prison she would have to undertake work to deal with her violence and lack of self-control. Prosecutor Paul Dunkels QC said Clinch had not thrown the scissors, but had stabbed her husband of nearly three years as she lost her temper. After Clinch showed the jury how she thought she had thrown the shears on that fatal morning six months ago, Mr Dunkels said: 'You’re searching for the acceptable demonstration of a throw. But as you didn’t throw the scissors, you have no set picture in your head. That’s why your demonstration (to police and in court) wobbles and varies so much.'

 

Lethal: Truro Crown Court heard the fatal wound was caused by dress-making scissors (not pictured), which were embedded up to 4in (12cm) into Mr Clinch's chest

Giving evidence, Clinch replied: 'I’m just not 100% sure how I picked them (the scissors) up. It happened in a split-second.' She said she stopped herself from picking up the sewing machine - a recent gift from her husband - but just 'grabbed the scissors' instead. Experts told the jury that severe force would have been required for the blades to pierce two layers of Mr Clinch’s clothing before imbedding so deeply into his chest. But Clinch said she had never intended to seriously injure the 'kind, gentle' Mr Clinch, described by friends as a quiet man who was known locally for his charity work. Asked by defence counsel Andrew Langdon QC about how she treated her late husband, Clinch replied: 'Not that well.' She broke down upon recalling how Mr Clinch - who the defendant’s children said would often simply walk away from confrontation - would aim to defuse arguments by putting his arms around hers. She said: 'If I was shouting at him, he would put his arms around both my arms. He would usually give me a kiss and I would calm down.'

Clinch’s temper frequently got the better of her throughout her life, the court heard. Put into care as a teenager, she became pregnant aged 15 to then-19-year-old Andrew Fazekas. The pair went on to have a second child and a tumultuous four-year marriage. Mr Fazekas read extracts from diaries he said he kept while living with his then-wife, which included accounts of Clinch attacking him with a bread knife, a screwdriver and a dart. The court was told Clinch had also stabbed her second husband, Peter Knibbs, with a kitchen knife, requiring him to undergo major surgery and spend three weeks in hospital, following a spat in 1989.

 

Guilty: Clinch was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but cleared of murder at Truro Crown Court (above)

Other witnesses recalled how Clinch had bit a neighbour’s hand during an argument, while Clinch herself admitted driving her car at a teenage man she suspected was a bad influence on one of her children. It prompted one young neighbour in Cornwall to refer to Clinch as 'the Incredible Hulk'. The court also heard Clinch would regularly lose her temper with her own offspring, eventually leading to all five leaving home by the time they were 18. On one occasion, she told her then-13-year-old son Adrian Knibbs to lie to his school about the injuries she inflicted upon him, and also left scarring to his temple when she hit him with a porcelain bowl. And Andrew Lee Fazekas, now 32, said of his mother: '(She) was often a violent person, a red mist would come down and she would suddenly go into a rage that would be over the smallest of things. 'Her rage would then stop like nothing had happened. It was like a light switch.'

Clinch’s eldest daughter, 24-year-old Zoe Knibbs, told the jury she called the police on her mother nearly a decade ago after her mother hit her, but did not press charges because she did not want to be taken into care. Her youngest child, 19-year-old Chelsea Lewis, added that her mother had once tried to push her down the stairs, and, on another occasion, threw a glass picture at her head. Speaking of her mother’s arguments with Mr Clinch, Miss Lewis said: 'He (Mr Clinch) would try his hardest to defend himself, but he was weak compared with my mum.'

 Source:  Daily Mail UK 

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