'I will watch you die first, then I will die. I want you dead first'

MAN WHO HELD SOFA CUSHION OVER HIS WIFE'S HEAD IN PROLONGED ATTACK IS JAILED

- By ROB KENNEDY

A PENSIONER who told his disabled wife “I want you dead” before holding a sofa cushion over her head in a prolonged and terrifying attack has been jailed.

George Taylor, 68, who had recently retired from being a carer, snapped and subjected his partner of 40 years to a “relentless and terrifying” ordeal at their family home in the Gateshead area.

Newcastle Crown Court heard he had never been violent or aggressive before but after a doctor's appointment on March 21, where he refused any mental health help, he repeatedly told the 61-year-old victim: “I want you dead” over the course of about three hours. The couple then went to bed in their separate rooms but Taylor was up during the night saying he was going to jail and early the following morning he told his wife: “I’m going to kill you today”