THE daughter of a man accused of killing his wife has told a court that he threatened to set fire to their house.
Michael Luke's daughter told Teesside Crown Court how her father threatened to burn down the house only hours before battering his wife to death with a paving hammer.
Kimberley Luke, 17, said her father had threatened to kill himself if his wife, Johanna, did not give him a second chance.
She told the court he later said 'I'll burn this house down before any of you leave'.
The Crown Court heard how Michael Luke was consumed with jealousy after his wife had an affair. After storming out, he returned home to Priory Gardens, Willington, and killed her with a paving hammer.
The 45-year-old landscape gardener admitted killing his 37-year-old wife, but pleaded not guilty to murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Kimberley said she did not know her mother had been having an affair, but said she would not have blamed her if she had known.
She said she remembered sitting with her mother in the family home on the day she died when her father called.
The previous day, he had received a letter from her mother's solicitor filing for divorce.
Kimberley said: "In the afternoon, it was quite calm. Mam was ironing and dad was watching the football. It unnerved me a bit how quiet it was. Dad drove off. Later he was on the phone, saying 'If you do not give me another chance, I'll kill myself'.
"Later he was in the house. He was shouting at her for getting dressed up and they were arguing about the equity of the house. He said, 'I'll burn this house down before any of you leave.' Mam ended up slumped on the kerb outside, upset and crying."
Defence barrister Franz Muller QC asked her: "If your family were to be kept together, it was not a good idea if your mother was having an affair, was it?"
Kimberley replied: "The reason she was having an affair was because the family was not right in the first place.
"I was not aware she was having an affair, I thought it was just a friendship. I saw text messages from the man and she said she really liked him.
"She wanted to be loved. The man she was having an affair with did show some affection. At home, she was getting abuse."
Told that her mother had several affairs, she said: "It does not come as a surprise.
"It was a shame she had to do that. My opinion (of her) would not have changed. I knew what went on behind closed doors."
The case continues.
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