Man jailed for beheading wife after brutal confession ends 30-year marriage
A husband has been jailed for life after brutally murdering his wife of 30 years in a horrific attack at their home in east London. Dempsey Nibbs, a 69-year-old crane driver, was sentenced to at least 21 years behind bars after being found guilty of killing Judith Nibbs, 60, in what the court called a “callous and brutal” act.
The tragedy unfolded after Nibbs became enraged when his wife admitted she had been seeing other men. The couple, who shared two children, had reportedly been going through a rough patch in the spring of 2014, with Nibbs convinced Judith was having multiple affairs. Things escalated during a heated row on April 7, when Judith confirmed his suspicions, reported the Daily Record.
Just days later, on April 10, he launched a sickening attack at their Hoxton flat. Nibbs knocked Judith unconscious with an iron bar, then beheaded her, smashing her skull with a mallet and attempting to flush the remains down the toilet. Afterwards, he wrote a note to their son Kirk and phoned emergency services, telling them there were two bodies at the scene. When police arrived, they found Judith’s headless body through the letterbox. Nibbs, armed with a shotgun and a knife, tried to take his own life but was restrained.
He later claimed he killed Judith because he thought she was a “snake,” though jurors were told he had no history of mental illness. Nibbs tried to argue it was self-defence, but the jury didn’t buy it. The Recorder of London, Nicholas Hilliard QC, dismissed any suggestion of remorse, telling Nibbs: “I’m sure you don’t regret your wife’s death save for its effect on your comfort and well-being.”
Nibbs, who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, admitted through his lawyer that he expects to die in prison.
The court heard that Judith had even predicted something terrible might happen to her. As she left work shortly before her death, she reportedly said, “If I’m not in Friday, I might be dead.”
Judith, originally from Kirkham near Preston, was described by her sister Frances as “a very kind and caring person” who didn’t deserve such a cruel end. Reading a statement on behalf of the family, she said: “Whatever problems there were in her relationship, Judith did not deserve to die in such a callous and brutal way.”
Her son Kirk was so devastated by the trial he couldn’t bring himself to give a victim impact statement, the court heard.
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