A crane operator was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of a gruesome act – decapitating his wife. The man flew into a murderous rage when she confessed to having relationships with other men.
Dempsey Nibbs, 69, was found guilty of murdering Judith Nibbs, a 60 year old Meals On Wheels worker, in a London courtroom. Despite Nibbs’ claim of self-defence, the jury at the Old Bailey convicted him of murder after hearing details of the brutal killing.
His defence barrister, Ian Henderson QC, admitted during the trial that Nibbs, who suffers from prostate cancer, expected to die in prison.
Ian Henderson QC, representing Nibbs, informed the court that his client accepted the likelihood of dying behind bars due to his poor health. The Recorder of London, Nicholas Hilliard QC, handed down a life sentence with a minimum of 21 years.
The Irish News reported that Hilliard addressed Nibbs, saying: “I’m sure you don’t regret your wife’s death save for its effect on your own comfort and well-being.”, reports the Daily Record.
On the night of April 10, 2014, in their Hoxton flat in East London, Nibbs brutally attacked the mother of his children. After knocking her unconscious with an iron bar, he beheaded her, shattered her head with a mallet, and disposed of the fragments in the toilet.
Following the gruesome murder, Nibbs penned a note to his 30 year old son Kirk and dialled 999, informing them that two bodies would be found at the property. A police officer, peering through the letterbox, spotted Judith Nibbs’ decapitated body and broke down the door, subsequently disarming Nibbs of a shotgun and knife as he attempted to stab himself in the bathroom.
Nibbs later claimed he killed his wife because he thought she was a “snake”, despite displaying no signs of mental illness. The couple’s relationship had deteriorated in the spring of 2014, after Nibbs suspected his wife of having multiple affairs, the Old Bailey jury was told by Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC.
During a heated argument on April 7, Mrs Nibbs confessed to her husband that she had been involved with other men. The next day, the mother of five ominously predicted her own demise, stating, “If I’m not in Friday, I might be dead” as she left work.
Judith Nibbs’ sister Frances paid tribute to the victim, describing her as a “very kind and caring person” in 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.”
The family was left “shocked and devastated” by the murder, with Judith’s son Kirk being severely impacted by the trial, unable to submit a victim impact statement.
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