The jury in the murder trial of a Christchurch woman charged with killing her husband of more than 20 years retired to consider its verdict on Thursday morning.
Lucille Scollay in the dock at the High Court in Christchurch. Photo: CHRISTCHURCH STAR / Pool
Lucille Sarah Scollay, 45, is accused of murdering Guy Christian Scollay, 48, in the bedroom of their St Albans home in February 2013.
In summing up the case at the High Court in Christchurch, Justice Mander said the jurors must consider what Mrs Scollay's state of mind was like the night she stabbed her husband.
He reminded the jury how she chose a sharp knife from a kitchen drawer and went into her bedroom, where she rolled her sleeping husband over, straddled him and stabbed him in the chest.
He said they must also use their wisdom and knowledge of human nature to reach a verdict.
The Crown case is that the accused was unhappy in the relationship with her husband, who was suffering from severe depression and anxiety, and wanted to do something to end her feelings of desperation.
The defence has said Mrs Scollay accepted her actions resulted in the death of her husband, but she has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder.
