A retired industrial chemist has been handed a 21-month prison sentence after being found guilty of the manslaughter of his 84-year-old wife, whom he killed with a hammer in their Bedfordshire home.
A Tragic Pact and a Fatal Blow
Luton Crown Court heard that 84-year-old Roger Worby struck his wife, Margaret Worby, on the head as she lay in bed at their home in Dunstable in January. The court was told the act was part of an alleged suicide pact between the couple, who had been married for 56 years.
Judge Michael Simon heard the harrowing account of Worby's call to emergency services, during which he said: ‘It’s my worst ever nightmare. We were so much in love, and now it has come to this.’
The couple, described by others as “joined at the hip”, had no children. Judge Simon noted they had worked all their lives and enjoyed a retirement in Dunstable without financial or other worries.
Diminished Responsibility and Mental Health Diagnoses
Worby had denied murder but admitted to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. This plea was accepted by prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC.
Psychiatric evidence presented to the court revealed Worby was suffering from significant mental health difficulties. Diagnoses included an ‘acute’ psychotic disorder characterised by delusions, with one psychiatrist suggesting the early stages of dementia. A third concluded an ‘abnormality of mental functioning’ impaired his ability to make rational decisions.
The court heard that in late December 2024, Worby became convinced he had committed fraud online and that he and his wife would be ‘sent to America’ and incarcerated.
Sentencing and a Life Sentence of Guilt
Judge Simon stated that while he could not make a definitive finding on the criminal standard about the pact, he had to sentence on the basis that Worby genuinely believed an agreement existed. He placed Worby's responsibility in the lower category.
Worby was ordered to serve half of his 21-month sentence in custody before release on license. Having been remanded since his arrest in January, his lawyer stated he would be released soon.
His barrister, Lawrence Selby KC, described the case as a tragedy, telling the court: ‘Nothing this court can do will ever be greater punishment for Mr Worby than having to live with what he did.’ He argued that sending the soon-to-be 85-year-old to prison was ‘likely to be a death sentence’.
The court heard how, the night before the killing, the couple had discussed the pact ‘over a cup of tea and a biscuit’, and Worby had later told police the 23rd of January was the worst day of his life.
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