On the morning of 14 August 2010, Richard Challen was killed by his wife Georgina 'Sally' Challen (née Jenney) in

Claygate Claygate is an affluent suburban village in Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It is the only civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge. Surrounded by green belt, it lies inside the Greater London Built-up Area. Claygate was once in t ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England.Sally Challen: Husband 'controlled the world around her'
/ref> Sally, 56 at the time, beat the 61-year-old retiree with a hammer 20 times, killing him, after he told her not to question him. She then covered the body and left a note that said, "I love you. Sally." The killing occurred in the

kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...

of the couple's marital home. On the following day, Sally travelled to

Beachy Head Beachy Head is a chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, formin ...

, intending to kill herself. She was initially convicted of murder, but the conviction was later quashed on appeal and she pleaded guilty to

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

.Woman who killed husband with hammer walks free from court
/ref> The case is the subject of the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

documentary ''The Case of Sally Challen''.

Background

Sally, the youngest of five children, was the daughter of a brigadier in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

who died when she was six years old. She was raised by her mother in

and attended school up to

O-levels The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

. She met Richard, a

car dealer A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive mainten ...

, when she was 15 years old and they married in 1979. They had two sons, David and James.

Trial

Guildford Crown Court Guildford Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases in Bedford Road, Guildford, England. History King Henry III designated Guildford as a location for the Surrey County Court and assizes in August 1257. A corn exchange ...

in Surrey in June 2011, she was convicted of his

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

after a seven-day trial, for which she was jailed for life.

Coercive control Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...

became a criminal offence in 2015. In February 2019 at the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, her conviction was quashed and a

retrial A new trial or retrial is a recurrence of a court case. A new trial may potentially be ordered for some or all of the matters at issue in the original trial. Depending upon the rules of the jurisdiction and the decision of the court that ordered ...

ordered in light of her having adjustment disorder at the time she killed her husband. Her appeal was based partly on her undiagnosed mental health conditions; she had been treated for

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

dependent personality disorder Dependent personality disorder (DPD) is characterized by a pervasive psychological dependence on other people. This personality disorder is a long-term condition in which people depend on others to meet their emotional and physical needs, with on ...

and

adjustment disorder Adjustment disorder is a maladaptive response to a psychosocial stressor. It is classified as a mental disorder. The maladaptive response usually involves otherwise normal emotional and behavioral reactions that manifest more intensely than usual ...

while in prison. Sally admitted manslaughter on the grounds of

diminished responsibility In criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental f ...

and pleaded not guilty to murder. She was due to be retried on 1 July 2019. However, on 7 June 2019 at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

in London, her plea was accepted and the retrial cancelled. The judge said that Challen controlled, isolated and humiliated his wife and was frequently unfaithful to her. He sentenced her to nine years and four months' imprisonment, which she had already served. Sally's son David supported her and fought for her in the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

; he felt the murder could have been prevented. In May 2020, Judge Paul Matthews, sitting in the High Court in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, ruled that Sally could inherit the estate of the deceased Challen, which is valued at £1 million. The claim was made to help benefit Sally's children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Challen, Richard 2010 crimes in the United Kingdom 2010s in Surrey 2010s trials August 2010 crimes in Europe August 2010 events in the United Kingdom Borough of Elmbridge Crime in Surrey Deaths by person in England Manslaughter in England Murder trials in the United Kingdom Overturned convictions in England Trials in England Hammer assaults