'Horse Whisperer put itching powder in man's pants then stabbed him to death'
A woman allegedly plunged a knife into her husband's back after a campaign of torment which saw her pour Viagra in his tea, put itching powder in his underwear, and even wipe her backside with his ties, a court was told.
Known locally as 'The Horse Whisperer', a court was told that 70-year-old Christine Rawle was on the phone to her daughter when she stabbed her husband Ian in between his shoulder blades as he walked by. She then calmly told her daughter: "I've stabbed him".
Prosecutor Sean Brunton KC told Exeter Crown Court the pair's adult daughter, who lives in Milton Keynes, hung up the call and called Thames Valley Police and the ambulance service. He said Rawle however, didn't call for help and instead made a 28-second call to a friend asking her to 'sort the dogs out'.
After knifing her husband of 27 years, Rawle is said to have walked off from the barn on their land to their isolated bungalow near Braunton in north Devon. Mr Brunton told the jury she was then heard shouting 'help me, help me', as her husband followed her asking her to remove the knife.
The prosecutor told the court: "He asks her - not unreasonably you might think - to take the knife out of his back. She runs away, shouting 'help me, help me' and he walks after her, no doubt very angry or distressed, with the knife still in his back. At some point, he collapses in the garden, she doesn't take the knife out straight away. She puts the dogs away, calls her friend, then takes the knife out and put it under the stable door."
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She was dubbed the Horse Whisperer (Facebook)Mr Brunton told the court their daughter heard the couple arguing during a 10-minute phone call leading up to the incident. He said that her daughter called the police and the ambulance service, who tried to call Rawle, but she initially didn't answer their calls. Eventually she picked up, he added. He said: "While her husband was dying and while the ambulance operator was trying to get her to spring into action, she was heard saying 'd**k, d**k, I've killed him the b*****d'.
"She stabbed her husband between the shoulder blades, it punctured between the ribs and he bled into his chest cavity, which caused cardiac arrest. The knife was 10cm into his back which caused a collapsed lung."
The jury was told that when police arrived at the scene, she told officers: "I took his life because he was horrible to me. He terrorised. It was continuous. I wanted out." She also told officers: "He wasn't sexually capable, he had a prostate issue, he used to blame me and tell me I'm not attractive. He didn't want children, he made me get sterilised."
She is accused of stabbing her husband (Facebook)Mr Brunton told the court the couple - who he previously likened to Roald Dahl's The Twits due to their constant bickering - had previously called police to the house.
He said in 1993, Rawle had got into trouble with the police over nuisance phone calls made to one of her husband's ex-partners Margaret Melville, in 1996 she stabbed Ian in the chest and arm, in 2000 hit him with a riding crop and in 2004 attempted to use a knife on him.
The court also heard her youngest son's girlfriend once saw her hold a knife to Mr Rawle's throat when she met her for the first time. The girlfriend was left shocked by what she saw in the kitchen but Rawle tried to make a joke out of it.
He also told jurors they would hear evidence from a neighbour who would tell how Rawle would treat her husband. The neighbour claims Rawle would put Viagra in his tea, chilli powder in his underpants and would wipe her backside with his ties. The neighbour, who was introduced to the couple by her partner, was told 'this was normal' for the pair.
Rawle denies murder. The trial continues.
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