London court jails man for killing wife with remote control

December 19, 2009

A man from London, England has been sentenced to three years in prison after killing his wife by hitting her in the head with a television remote control. The trial was held in the Old Bailey, a famous court in London.

The court heard how 46-year-old electrical engineer Paul Harvey was arguing with 48-year-old American wife Gloria Laguna on topics relating to the man's step-daughter's education and his former wife. At the time, both husband and wife had consumed alcohol and cocaine. When Paul threw the remote control, which weighed 160 grams, at Gloria, neither were aware of the fact that Gloria suffered from an extremely rare health condition which meant that an artery in her neck was weak. The remote control hit the area, causing Gloria to have a large brain haemorrhage. Paul attempted to give his wife the kiss of life, however he was unsuccessful and she later died from her injuries. Paul pleaded guilty to manslaughter in March of this year.

Johnathan Goldberg QC, who was defending Paul Harvey, said: "All he did was throw the remote control in her direction. By a fluke chance, maybe the same as, in a different context, winning the lottery, it landed on the exact spot where she had a weakness. He loved this woman very much. She was obviously a very fine woman who gave up her work for him. He is deeply ashamed and remorseful at the death of his wife at his hand."

Prosecuting was Richard Whittam QC. He said: "It would only have required a trivial incident to cause her death."

When sentencing Mr. Harvey, Judge Giles Forrester spoke to him. "You killed your wife, who was rightly been described by your counsel as a fine woman," he said. "You have this streak of anger and violence within your character that does surface from time to time."