A Cheshire woman who poured boiling water over her husband while he slept has been convicted of his murder.
Corinna Smith, aka Corinna Baines, of Highfield Road in Neston, mixed the liquid with three bags of sugar, leaving Michael Baines with 36 per cent burns to his body.
The 80-year-old was taken to Whiston Hospital in the early hours of Tuesday, July 14, 2020, in a serious condition. He received treatment for his injuries but, despite the best efforts of medical staff, he died a month later – on Tuesday, August 18.
The day before the attack took place, Smith, aged 59, was described as angry and very upset at a rumour circulating about her husband that she believed to be true.
They had been married for 38 years and Smith was her husband’s carer. The Crown Prosecution Service said she killed him after a family dispute. The CPS said in court that the basis of this dispute was never substantiated.
Smith had been shopping with her daughter the day before the killing. Her husband rang her later in the day and seemed impatient for her to come home. Her daughter criticised his treatment of her and there was a dispute about Mr Baines.
Smith was said to be livid at the time but appeared to have calmed down when her daughter and her son-in-law took her home later.
However, as the evening went on, she rang other relatives to talk about what had happened and eventually carried out the brutal act.
She filled a bucket from her garden with boiling water and mixed it with 3kg of sugar.
As Michael lay asleep in bed she poured the contents over his arms and torso and then left the property.
She went to a nearby house and banged on the front door until the occupant answered.
He contacted police and ambulance after hearing her say: “I’ve hurt him really bad, I think I’ve killed him”.
A short time later officers arrived at the address. They found Michael in excruciating pain and whimpering in bed with the skin on his right arm and hand peeling off.
Michael was taken to hospital and remained in the burns unit for two weeks in a stable condition before he deteriorated and passed away.
Following the incident, Smith was initially charged with grievous bodily harm – shortly after the death of her husband she was charged with murder.
Today, Tuesday, June 15, a jury found her guilty of murder following a five-day trial at Chester Crown Court.
She will be sentenced on Friday, July 9.
Crown Advocate Jayne Morris of CPS Mersey-Cheshire said: “Corinna Baines killed Michael Baines in a particularly brutal and painful way.
“She confessed to the manslaughter of her husband but the CPS refused to accept that. The CPS case was that her actions were deliberate and considered.
“She was clearly upset about the dispute between herself, her daughter and her husband but the evidence demonstrated that she was in control and acted in anger when she poured the lethal mixture over her husband and wanted to extract vengeance.
“The Crown Prosecution Service said she intended either to kill Michael or to cause him really serious harm and so pursued a prosecution for murder.
“The jury have agreed with us and found her guilty. This is a tragic case that has devastated the family of Mr and Mrs Baines and our thoughts remain with them.”
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Hughes, from Cheshire Constabulary’s Major Crime Directorate, said: “Smith killed her husband Michael in such a painful and cruel way.
“To throw boiling water over someone when they are asleep is absolutely horrific. To also mix three bags of sugar with the water showed the determination she had to cause serious harm.
“The sugar placed into the water makes it vicious. It becomes thicker and stickier and sinks into the skin better. It left Michael in agony and rather than call the emergency services she wasted time by going to a house nine doors away to tell a neighbour, who she wasn’t close to, what she had done.
“Michael was an elderly man who fought for his life after the attack but sadly in the end he passed away. My thoughts continue to be with his family at this incredibly difficult time.”
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