A father-of-four went back to his Wirral home after drinking about 12 pints of lager and strangled and smothered his wife, a court heard today.

58-year-old Jill Sadler was found lying dead in her bed at their home at Wastdale Drive, Moreton, in the early hours of February 18 this year after her husband rang his daughter to tell her she was dead.

David John Sadler has admitted unlawfully killing her but is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court facing a murder charge, which he denies.

Opening the prosecution case Stuart Denney, QC, told the jury that the previous month the family suffered the loss of their daughter from cancer and the defendant’s father had died late last year, which he claimed might partly explain why Mrs Sadler had taken to drinking more than was good for her.

She and that daughter had been estranged and Mrs Sadler was not welcome to see her in her final days.

Mr Denney said that the Sadlers often went out for a drink together on Saturdays, and on Saturday, February 17 they went out to three local pubs. Mrs Sadler left the Coach and Horses about 10.50pm but her husband continued drinking.

By the time he left out 1.30am he had ten-to-12 pints and was drunk and staggering, alleged Mr Denney.

At 5.15am he messaged their daughter Aimee and when she rang he said: “I’m so sorry, it’s your mum, come quick. She’s dead. I can’t believe it.”

To her husband Ben he said: “Jill’s dead. I did what everyone wanted me to do,” alleged Mr Denney, who added that Ben dialled 999 and said his dad had told him he had suffocated her.

Police arrived and found Mrs Sadler lying flat on her back on the bed in her attic bedroom and paramedics began CPR but she could not be revived.

62-year-old Sadler told a police officer: “I just snapped, she caused the death of my daughter. I was just fed up with all the pressure. She just went for me.”

When interviewed he declined to answer questions.

A post mortem revealed her injuries were “highly suspicious of asphyxia” with the use of a pillow and he had used his bare hands to strangle her, he alleged.

“The Crown’s case is this was murder plain and simple, that the defendant returned home in the early hours of the morning and that he killed his wife and killing her must have taken more than a moment by using manual strangulation and pressing a pillow over her face until she died,” said Mr Denney.

“We say simply this wasn't a loss of control at all.

"It was a prolonged and vicious attack on a woman of petite build who struggled as best she might but could not throw off her attacker,” he added.

The case continues.