Man jailed for the rest of his life for murdering his wife by setting fire to her in car
An 80-year-old man who repeatedly hit his elderly wife with a lump hammer before setting her on fire in their car has been jailed for the rest of his life.
David Clarke, of Langland, Swansea, was sentenced to 21 years and eight months at the city's crown court on Friday, for murdering his wife of more than 50 years.
Helen Clarke, 77, who has been described as "loving, kind and courageous", died of multiple organ failure after suffering serious burns.
Clarke, a trained electrical engineer and former competition shooter, had pleaded guilty to the crime at a hearing in December last year.
In a witness statement, his son, David Clarke Junior, said his parents had always argued, with his father sometimes being violent and bullying towards his mother, but thought they had "mellowed with age".
The court heard the couple had begun to seriously argue again in the days before the incident, after Clarke revealed he had an affair some years prior and had orchestrated a recent holiday to Australia to see the woman again.
On the day of the murder, Clarke sent a text message to his children telling them he loved them.
Then, under the pretence of taking his wife to the beach, he drove her to Sketty Lane, where he hit her nine times with a hammer and doused her in petrol.
A passing council workman, hearing Mrs Clarke's screams and noticing flames from the car, attempted to save the couple - but Clarke pushed him away before driving off and crashing into a hedge.
The car was then described as going up in a "big ball of flames".
The emergency services arrived at the scene and attempted to help the severely injured Mrs Clarke.
She told them repeatedly "my husband has done this".
She died two days later on September 24, 2023, at Morriston Hospital.
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