A UK woman was found guilty of murder last month after pouring a mixture of boiling water and sugar on her husband while he was asleep in their home. It was unclear at the time what motivated her to kill him, but WFLA reports 59-year-old Corinna Smith’s actions were provoked by her daughter’s accusation that her mother’s partner, Michael Baines, sexually abused her and her brother “for many years when they were children.”
“We cannot and do not say whether these allegations made about Michael Baines are true or not….but that is not the issue for you in this case because the prosecution certainly accept that these allegations were made, and that Corinna Baines believed them to be true at the time that she caused the fatal injuries to Michael,” a prosecutor said.
Smith was initially charged with grievous bodily harm, but her charges were elevated to murder when Baines died one month after the incident, which required several surgeries and multiple skin grafts to address the significant burns to 36 percent of his body.
She argued that she should be charged with manslaughter instead since she claims to have lost control in the moment.
After pouring the concoction on Baines, Smith ran over to a neighbor’s home, and tearfully explained, “I’ve hurt him, I’ve hurt him really bad… I think I’ve killed him.” When questioned by the Crown Prosecution Service, Smith gave a different story before acknowledging that she was responsible for his death.
Smith was sentenced to life in prison last week. She will be required to serve a minimum of 12 years before being considered for parole.
