Woman sentenced to life for killing husband in Manchester

A 72-year-old woman has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering her 84-year-old husband, whose death she claimed was a tragic accident. Daryl Berman was ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday, July 3, 2026, following a retrial. She was convicted of killing David Berman at their home on Butterstile Lane in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, on March 13, 2025.

The court heard that Berman called emergency services just before 2 p.m. that day, reporting her husband was injured. She told the operator she did not know what happened, suggesting he had slipped in the kitchen while carrying a lunch tray and may have fallen onto a small paring knife. Paramedics arrived and attempted resuscitation, but David Berman was pronounced dead at the scene approximately 40 minutes later.

Initially, police accepted Berman's account of an accident. However, a post-mortem examination conducted days later raised suspicions. Prosecution pathologist Dr. Philip Lumb testified that the 2.5-centimeter stab wound to David Berman's chest and an injury to his finger, which he described as a defensive wound, were characteristic of a homicide and made an...