'Bullying and violent' new bride Sharon Edwards, 42, has been jailed for life after she was convicted of murdering her solicitor husband David, 51
A new bride who 'liked the idea of being a solicitor's wife' has been jailed for life for murdering her lawyer husband, after he was made redundant.
'Bullying and violent' Sharon Edwards, 42, stabbed criminal defence lawyer David Edwards, 51, to death at their home in Chorley, Lancashire, just two months after they married in Las Vegas.
Jailing the mother-of-four at Manchester Crown Court for a minimum of 20 years, Mr Justice William Davis told the defendant that she had 'robbed people of a decent man'.
Before his death, Mr Edwards had been the victim of 'forceful bullying' and had suffered at the hands of Edwards during the 'turbulent' year-long relationship in which he was regularly beaten and belittled, the trial heard.
The torment culminated in him being fatally stabbed in the heart with a kitchen knife on August 23 last year.
Friends and colleagues had warned the 'besotted' solicitor to leave domineering and possessive Edwards after he began turning up on the court circuit with black eyes, scratches and bite marks - even disclosing to one that his wife had hit him with a coffee table and an ashtray.
The court heard that part of Edwards's rage was because her new husband had been made redundant and was later sacked, having previously held a partnership status at Stanley H Cross & Co which was to be taken over by another firm, Kevills.
The trial heard that the killing was to be the second attack in as many successive days in which Edwards had used a knife in anger against Mr Edwards - who she knew would never fight back or call the police.
After he was found dead, Mr Edwards's bruised and cut body was to further reveal the extent of the regular assaults.
It showed 60 external injuries, of which 30 were incised or prod wounds, including stab wounds to his thigh, knee, finger and a shallow wound to his scalp.
Before his death, Mr Edwards (right, on his wedding day) had been the victim of 'forceful bullying' and had suffered at the hands of Edwards (left, in her police mugshot) during the 'turbulent' year-long relationship
Mr Edwards was fatally stabbed in the heart with this kitchen knife on August 23 last year
Edwards claimed his injuries were a result of her alcoholic husband falling over when in drink.
In her defence, she claimed Mr Edwards walked into the knife she was holding in a row about tax credits only hours after they returned from an all-expenses paid Spanish holiday.
The jury, which began deliberating on Monday afternoon, disbelieved her version of events and unanimously convicted her of murder.
Before sentencing, the court heard that Edwards had previous convictions and cautions related to domestic abuse including a 2004 attack on a former partner who was bitten on the forearm and punched to the side of the face.
Mr Justice Davis said Mr Edwards was 'a hugely valued member of the community in Chorley and elsewhere'.
He read out part of a letter he received from a magistrate who sat in Chorley where Mr Edwards would regularly represent clients.
It stated: 'Over the years we have come to know David well. He was a very engaging person with a wry grin.
The couple's home in Chorley, Lancashire, where Mr Edwards was fatally stabbed, just two months after his wedding in Las Vegas
'He was always proud of his reputation and integrity as an officer of the court.
'His tragic death has affected every member of the Chorley bench, and I am sure the wider legal fraternity, very deeply.
'David was held in extremely high regard by every member of the Chorley bench.'
Addressing the defendant, the judge said: 'It is clear that was a view widely held and your bullying of him, which ended with this tragic death, has robbed people of a decent man.
'You are someone who has attacked people in the past. You have a bullying and violent nature.'
He said he was 'quite satisfied' that it was not the first time she had attacked Mr Edwards with a knife and that over the preceding months she had assaulted him on more than one occasion.
The judge added: 'This deadly attack was the culmination of long-term bullying by you on this respected member of the community.'
The couple on their wedding day in Las Vegas, where Edwards had told her new husband he had shown her 'what true love is'
He said he accepted that she did not intend to kill him but that she certainly meant to cause really serious harm.
Edwards showed no emotion on delivery of the verdict or when she was led from the dock.
Her barrister, David Fish QC, said the mother-of-four was 'at a very low ebb' and had 'lost everything'.
The couple had met in 2000, when Edwards was 27-year-old single mother whose former partner John Pritchard was on trial accused of assaulting her.
Mr Pritchard, who was cleared of any wrongdoing, was represented by Mr Edwards, a defence solicitor who cross-examined the then Sharon Manser, who presented herself as a 'domestic violence victim'.
Following the acquittal, Edwards, who had her first child aged 16, went to him for advice about a neighbour dispute, but it was not until 2014 that their paths crossed again when Mr Edwards sent her a Facebook request and the relationship developed from there.
The court had previously heard Edwards 'liked the idea of being a solicitor's wife', enjoying frequent holidays and sporting expensive rings and manicured nails.
But when Mr Edwards lost his job, she stood to lose it all - leading to further tension in the already troubled relationship.
Mr Edwards had told no less than 11 people about the abuse he was suffering at the hands of his partner, and had described her to one colleague as a 'complete nightmare', who had been 'bleeding him dry'.
Even when her own daughter called the police after one attack on Mr Edwards, no charges were brought and in a police interview Edwards had said 'more than once' that her partner was a solicitor.
Prosecutor Anne Whyte told her during the trial: 'That's just a little snapshot of you thinking you were untouchable in that regard.
'That's just one example of David Edwards being injured after a violent row with you.'
Mr Edwards' friends and colleagues became concerned for his welfare after seeing his injuries, noticing not only a decline in his appearance, but in 'his professionalism as a solicitor, in his self-respect'.
On his wedding day, Mr Edwards had to wear make-up to try to disguise a black eye, returning home with a spit lip which Edwards said was a result of his drinking.
Mr Edwards, who had been popular and reputable, would turn up to work battered, bruised and even covered in scratches and bite marks, after coffee tables and ashtrays were launched at him - yet he still refused to report his wife to the police.
Initially he had played down his injuries, claiming he had fallen down stairs or walked into doors, but in his final weeks, he cared less and less about the visibility of his injuries, almost accepting them as inevitable.
In a recording of one unguarded conversation he had with Edwards, he told her: 'We are going to have to refine the excuse for my eye. You know the garage door that we made up, that doesn't wash'.
When Edwards was arrested after her daughter reported an attack, Mr Edwards refused to make a statement.
Mr Hall said: 'He said that if he refused to make a complaint and Sharon refused to answer any questions to police, no action could be taken by police.'
Edwards was impeccably dressed throughout her trial and claimed that she did not even like knives after one of her sons allegedly held it to her neck.
As part of her defence case she allowed a wedding video to be shown to the court in which she declared her love for her new husband in Las Vegas, describing him as 'my true love', 'soulmate' and 'lover'.
Wearing a tiara and white sleeveless lace gown, and clutching a bouquet of lilies, she could be heard telling him: 'One year ago today you entered my life and I can honestly say you turned it upside down and swept me off my feet. You have shown me what true love is'.
But on his wedding day, Mr Edwards had to wear make-up to try to disguise a black eye, returning home with a spit lip which Edwards said was a result of his drinking.
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