A woman fed her husband a massive overdose of aspi

A woman fed her husband a massive overdose of aspirin and anti-depressants hidden in a spicy food such as curry before pretending he had committed suicide.

Dena Thompson, 43, was charged with murdering Julian Webb when his body was exhumed seven years after his death and re-examined, the Old Bailey jury heard.

Thompson kept Webb secluded for the last week of his life, which enabled her to feed him the drugs in secret, prosecutor Michael Birnbaum, QC, told the jury.

He said: ‘The evidence points strongly to her having arranged things in such a way that the last days of his life she could administer drugs to him by stages.

‘She must have used trickery for this purpose.

‘She could have disguised the taste of the drugs in hot food such as curry.

‘

When Mr Webb died in 1994, the coroner who heard the inquest returned an open verdict, having been unable to decide whether the death was accidental or a suicide, the jury heard.

At that stage, the issue of foul play was not investigated, Mr Birnbaum said.

Mr Birnbaum told the jury: ‘As you know, the police keep cases under review and sometimes a matter may be re-investigated even years after events.

‘The police decided to look into the circumstances of of Julian’s death.

‘Further investigations were done and it was decided to exhume the body of Julian on October 11, 2001.

‘

Mr Birnbaum said that forensic samples were taken from Mr Webb’s hair and thigh muscle.

Test results showed that Mr Webb had ingested excessive amounts of anti-depressants over several days – not smaller amounts over a longer period, as the post mortem in 1994 indicated.

Thompson was interviewed about her husband’s death in August last year, where her solicitor read a prepared statement.

Mr Birnbaum said: ‘She claimed that she had no very clear recollection of the circumstances of the death of Julian, and in fact in the statement she said nothing about the events of the night when Julian died.

‘After the statement had been read the interviewing officer asked her if she could remember that night – that crucial night – and she gave no answer.

‘You might like to consider why should she be unwilling to answer questions about that crucial night.

‘

The jury heard that in 2000, newspaper executive Don Hudson, a friend of Mr Webb, came forward to tell police what he knew about his friend’s death.

Mr Birnbaum said that what Thompson had told Mr Hudson differed significantly from what she had told the inquest about her husband’s death.

Mr Birnbaum told the jury: ‘She said that he had fished earlier in the day of his birthday, June 30.

‘The sea was very rough and he took some seasickness pills.

‘He took an aspirin when he got home because he had a headache.

‘Dena took him to his favourite restaurant, an Indian restaurant, and he said he was going to eat a curry as hot as he could stand.

‘He was drinking all day and when they got home she was not sure whether he had taken more drugs.

‘

Thompson also allegedly told Mr Hudson that Mr Webb, who she said weighed 250 pounds at his death, had been taking steroids.

Mr Birnbaum said: ‘Obviously this story is different from anything she has said to anyone else.

‘Parts of it are obviously nonsense.

‘

The prosecutor said, however, that the discussion about hot curry was important, because of the strong flavour of the anti-depressants that Thompson allegedly fed her husband.

‘One way of disguising it would be in a hot curry.

‘

The trial continues.

ends