A HUSBAND accused of murdering his wife with a length of washing line during a kinky sex game will face a second trial.
Norman Heaton, 42, strangled mother-of-three Jacqueline Heaton, 32, before hiding her body under the stairs at their home in Anderson Street, South Shields.
He told police that they had been playing an asphyxiation game but that the neck grip had been too tight and accidentally killed her.
The prosecution claims Mr Heaton deliberately strangled his wife, but last week, after almost ten hours deliberation, a jury failed to reach a verdict and was discharged.
The case was back before Newcastle Crown Court yesterday. A new trial date was set for the end of May.
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