13 March 2024 , 20:18
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A woman found guilty of murdering her "kind-hearted" husband after downing six cocktails on her birthday has been jailed for life.
Lisa Ellwood got into an argument with Ryan Ellwood at their home in Wakefield after their night out. Ellwood, 40, had used her arm to hold Ryan against kitchen cabinets and grabbed a kitchen knife from a drawer before stabbing him once in the chest on August 29 last year. Ryan, described as a “quiet and kind-hearted man” died after the knife pierced his rib, lung and aorta.
The court heard she had made a comment about Ryan being ill and being "too weak to fight" her off. Ellwood claimed to have no recollection of the attack. Leeds Crown Court heard Lisa Ellwood had attacked Ryan in the past and there was evidence they had been violent to one another.
The court was told Ryan's family, including his former wife and their two children, had been left devastated by his death. In a victim statement, Ryan's sister Lucy described the last six months as a 'living hell' for the family and said his murder had caused “utter devastation”. She said: "Our lives will never be the same again. We will never get over how Ryan was taken from us."
Lucy said Ryan's family had known that his relationship with Lisa Ellwood would not end well, but added: "We had no idea it would end with Ryan's murder." She said family had seen a 'decline' in Ryan in the last couple of years and it was felt he was 'withdrawing' from his family who live in the Lake District.
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Ryan was described as "kind hearted" by his heartbroken family (West Yorkshire Police / SWNS)
Lisa Ellwood was jailed for life (West Yorkshire Police / SWNS)Ryan's former wife, and mum to his two children, described him as a 'caring man' who loved his children, and who had been 'cruelly taken' She said: "One of the hardest things was to sit my children down and tell them that their dad had gone to heaven and the reason why. Both are really struggling and are angry with the world."
The court heard Ellwood was drinking a bottle of vodka every couple of days and had been the victim of an abusive childhood. Recorder of Leeds His Honour Judge Guy Kearl, sentencing Ellwood to a life, with a minimum term of 16 years, described the murder as a “senseless act of violence”.
The judge told Ellwood: "I am satisfied it was usually you who escalated matters and resorted to physical violence." I am not sure the intention was to kill but to cause grievous bodily harm rather than death. You cannot bring yourself to accept it was you who killed Ryan, whether that is amnesia from alcohol I don't know."