Teacher 'bludgeoned wife to death over affair'

A teacher bludgeoned his wife to death with a metal bar over an affair she was having at the school where they both taught, a court heard today.

Mark Parnham, 36, then ransacked the couple's West Sussex home before lying to neighbours and police that his wife Jillian had been killed during a violent burglary, a jury was told.

Parnham of Mill Mead, Ashington, West Sussex, denies murdering his 39-year-old wife at the family home on March 5 last year while the couple's two young boys, aged four and 16 months, were upstairs.

Today Lewes Crown Court heard from prosecutor Philip Katz how Parnham was in "a jealous rage" when he repeatedly attacked his wife with a six-inch metal rod.

Both Parnham and his wife taught at Millais School in Horsham.

A pathologist later found 73 external injuries on Mrs Parnham's body consistent with at least 30 blows. There was blood splattered all over the lounge of the couple's home.

Mr Katz told the jury how Parnham upturned furniture to make it look as if the couple had been attacked. Parnham then banged on two neighbour's doors covered in blood and claiming his wife was gravely injured.

Mr Katz said: "The fact that he killed his wife is not going to be in dispute. The case is that during the evening, in a fit of jealous rage, he used a metal bar to beat his wife to death, repeatedly hitting her on the head and body until she was dead".

Mr Katz said the couple rowed that evening over Mrs Parnham's affair with a fellow teacher at Millais, a man called Christopher Worth.

He added: "The defendant then overturned furniture to make it look as if the house had been ransacked. He lied to neighbours, the emergency services, paramedics, police and to doctors about having been attacked by two men in balaclavas.

"He threw the weapon that he had used to kill his wife into the front garden to make it look as if intruders had made their getaway in that direction".

Mr Katz said Parnham later abandoned his story and admitted he had taken the metal bar from the metal work department of Millais School, where he taught Information Technology.

Parnham later claimed his wife, who taught maths, was the first person to launch an attack. He claimed he disarmed her but then she attacked again. He told police he disarmed her for a second time before launching his attack on her.

Mr Katz said: "The Crown say that even on that story there is really no question of him acting at the time in lawful self-defence because his wife was unarmed and smaller than he was.

"He said he had behaved like an animal. The Crown are sceptical about his explanation of what the metal bar was doing in the house. He had been brooding for some time that he knew his wife was having an affair with a colleague at the school."

Another teacher at the school told how she was at the Parnham family home on the evening of the killing.

Rebecca Nicholson told how she was with Mark while her husband, Andrew, and Jillian Parnham discussed matters concerning the school band.

Mrs Nicholson said she could not detect any bad atmosphere between the Parnhams when she left their home at around 7.30pm.

She also told how the couple extremely devoted to each other and to their two children.

In a statement she told police they were a very "lovey dovey couple". And today she described them as touchy-feely.

The court heard how Mr Parnham had promised to the children at Mothers Day, which was shortly after the killing, was going to be special as it coincided with the couple's wedding day.

Mrs Nicholson said she was aware of rumours that Mrs Parnham was having an affair with fellow teacher Christopher Worth.

She told the court: "I thought Chris had feelings for Jill but I did not think they were reciprocated."

Under cross-examination by Michael Wood QC, Mrs Nicholson told how shortly after Valentine's Day last year both Mr and Mrs Parnham arrived at school with injuries.

It later emerged Mr Parnham had tripped over one of the children's toys and had fallen into Mrs Parnham.

Mrs Nicholson said: "We all thought they had fallen down the stairs while Mr Parnham was carrying Jill in some kind of romantic gesture."