Moment woman who killed husband in birthday row confessed and showed 'pride'

05 September 2023 , 10:57

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Moment woman who killed husband in birthday row confessed and showed 'pride'

A killer wife would murdered her husband in a row over a birthday meal showed "pride and flair" in her confession, experts claim.

Penelope Jackson, 66, stabbed partner David, 78, after she said he "kicked off" during a celebratory Zoom call with their daughter and son-in-law. New documentary Faking It on Discovery+ has looked in more detail at the aftermath, including the police bodycam footage of her arrest.

Jackson told a 999 call handler she had tried to knife her victim through the heart but "he doesn't have one". She added: "I’ve killed my husband, or tried to because I’ve had enough. I might go and stab him again. I am in the lounge, he is in the kitchen bleeding to death with any luck."

She told officers at the scene David was a "bully" and claimed "I'm glad I've done it". When they mentioned CPR she said: "Oh, don’t! No, no, please don’t. Ooh, I should have stabbed him a bit more."

Police bodycam footage shows Penelope Jackson during her arrest (Avon and Somerset Police / SWNS)

In a confession note, Jackson wrote: "To whom it may concern, I have taken so much abuse over the years - look at my records. But he was a good Daddy. However, the mask slipped tonight. That was unforgivable. I accept my punishment, may he rot in hell." Judge Martin Picton said the killer hadn't shown a "shred of remorse" before jailing her for a minimum of 18 years in October 2021.

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The Sun reports the documentary - which is yet to air - features body language expert Dr Cliff Lansley who says: "She’s been accused of attempted murder, and she says ‘yes yes ok, hopefully not attempted’, as if she’s proud of the actions that have just taken place.

Penelope and David Jackson (Avon and Somerset Constabulary / SWNS)

Jackson was jailed for a minimum of 18 years (SWNS)

"She wants to get the message across: ‘I admit it all’. There’s almost a little bit of pride and flair in it as she flicks back, ‘yes I admit it all, I’m proud of what I’ve done'." Forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes says she is "emotionally distant" but still "absolutely cold and absolutely certain of what she’s done". She adds that it's "darkly comic" that an elderly woman in middle England could behave like that.

Jackson claimed in her trial she had been "putting up with the violence, the unwanted sex, the belittling, stopping me doing things, all the horrible things" for years during her marriage before she snapped. Her husband had previously held a knife to her throat during a family BBQ. The couple were on a Zoom call when David became angry at his wife for having made bubble and squeak as well as the lobster, crab and steak they were having. Jackson then stabbed him in the kitchen.

Ryan Merrifield