Jealous Husband Kills Wife After She Left Him For Old Crush She Found On Facebook (Photos)

David Thomas

A pensioner has been found guilty of murdering his estranged wife after she left him for an old flame via Facebook.

David, 74, and 69-year-old Sheila Thomas had been married for 50 years when Mrs Thomas, a mother-of-five, ended the relationship to be with a man who sought her out on social media.

When Thomas found out, he "lost control" and lay in wait to kill her at the family home in Herne Hill, south London, the Old Bailey heard.

He is due to be sentenced on Thursday.

The killing on 24 July last year came a month after Mrs Thomas rekindled a relationship with Victor Cassar - a man who she had a fling with in 1975.

'Waiting for her'

The court heard how the defendant had asked a friend whether he could get a gun for him about a week before the murder.

Prosecutor Brian O'Neill QC told jurors the defendant had been "waiting for her, waiting to kill her" at the family home, having previously told her that he would be out.Sheila Thomas

He lay in wait and stabbed Mrs Thomas with a kitchen knife and bludgeoned her with a lump of wood, in a "planned attack", Mr O'Neill said.

'Lost control'

When police arrived at the scene, Thomas opened the door wearing a blood-soaked T-shirt and shorts, the court heard.

Giving evidence, Thomas told jurors he had "lost control" after his wife claimed he was not the father of two of their daughters.

He told the court: "She said 'I don't love you, I have never loved you."'

She told him she "detested" having s-x with him and that she should have left him years ago, the court heard.

"She said 'I will tell you something now you don't want to know...you are not the father to two of your daughters,"' Thomas said.

A jury deliberated for nine-and-a-half hours to find Thomas guilty of murder by a majority of 11 to one.