Judge jails ‘cynical and cruel’ Wolverhampton woman for husband's murder after 'deception'
A ‘cynical and cruel’ woman who killed her husband then lied saying he had taken his own life has been jailed for life.
Amy Pugh, 34, of Stafford Road, Wolverhampton, was sentenced at Stafford Crown Court this morning, having been found guilty of murdering Kyle Pugh following a trial in June.
Pugh had inflicted severe neck compressions on her estranged husband Kyle Pugh, at her home in Newport on March 22, 2022.
Mr Pugh, who was 29 and from Telford, died in hospital in the days following the incident.
But Pugh told the emergency services, Mr Pugh’s family, and the police that he had hanged himself.
The court had heard that Pugh said she was aware of her husband’s injuries from 8.45pm - but failed to call 999 until 9.04pm - having made a number of telephone and video calls to her father before calling an ambulance.
Sentencing, Judge Kristina Montgomery, said Mr Pugh had been a “cherished son” and added: “He is mourned by his family who have had to try to come to terms with his death in the context of your callous deception over how it was caused.”
She said the lies had taken an “unimaginable toll” on his family.
Judge Montgomery addressed the nature of the relationship between the couple saying it was “described by everyone as toxic”.
She said the court had heard of volatile rows and frequent altercations between the pair, with violence becoming the norm.
The court had previously heard of incidents where Mr Pugh had broken his wife’s jaw, and had dragged her by her hair in front of friends at a barbecue.
Judge Montgomery said: “As your relationship deteriorated the boundaries between victim and aggressor blurred.
