'He got away with murder': Axe killer of Leeds nurse is sent to hospital

Retired Leeds midwife Ann Geddes, 63, was found dead at the Scottish home she shared with her husband on February 7.

Roger Geddes, 61, battered her to death before impersonating her in a phonecall.

The retired civil servant was originally accused of murder, but the Crown Office accepted his guilty plea to the reduced charge of culpable homicide on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

The decision prompted fury from the victim's family, who claimed Geddes "got away with murder".

At the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lord Doherty made Geddes the subject of a compulsion order and a restriction order without limit of time.

The move means he will remain at the State Hospital in Carstairs until the authorities decide that he can be released.

The couple's daughter, Angela Geddes, 31, said she could not bear to look at her father in court today.

"When he came in, I covered my face with a sheet of paper because I didn't want to see him and I didn't want him to see me," she said.

"He knew I was there but I don't even want to look at him."

Miss Geddes said she believes her father was convicted of the wrong crime.

Speaking outside court on behalf of the family, she said: "We believe this was a murder following years of domestic abuse by a controlling and violent man who was never going to let his wife leave him.

"However, we are reassured that he will not be released for some time.

"Nothing can ever compensate for our loss and the ordeal that we have gone through. We are pleased that this part of the criminal process is over and we can concentrate more on our precious memories of Ann."

Describing her mother as "kind, caring, fun" and "highly regarded" in her work, Miss Geddes said: "We have lost our mum, our daughter, our sister, our aunt, our friend because of the unnecessary actions of this evil and deceiving man.

"Life is not the same without Ann, but this sentence provides some closure with which we can begin to rebuild our shattered lives."

Miss Geddes also said the family home was cleared without her permission and relatives were left to deal with the bloodstained floorboards.

She said: "My father sold the house without asking even if I minded and then refused to pay for bloodstained floorboards to be replaced.

"As a family, we were left to deal practically and emotionally with moving the bloodstained floorboards ourselves in order to protect the dignity of my mum.

"A fact that's been particularly devastating is that I was executor of my mum's estate and the house was cleared, without my permission, of all its contents. I was not informed until after the event that the entire house had been cleared."

mfl

Page 2: 15:23The couple, who were married for 35 years, moved to Carnoustie after Mrs Geddes retired from her role in midwifery management in Leeds six years ago.

The court previously heard that the marriage had been unhappy for some time and that, for more than a year before the killing, Geddes had been suffering from depression and anxiety, which strained their relationship.

The day before she died, Mrs Geddes wrote in a diary that her husband was in a volatile state.

According to the note, she also told him she was going to leave him unless he told his doctor how bad his condition was.

Geddes admitted that, the next day, he tied a dressing-gown belt around his wife's wrists and repeatedly hit her with an axe.

Police went to the home in Panbride Road after he told his daughter over the phone: "She's in the bedroom. She's dead. I've killed her. We had an argument. I'm sorry. I've called the police."

The exchange followed a series of calls between the two during the day.

During one conversation, Geddes attempted to impersonate the victim. He then claimed his wife was in hospital.

Geddes told police: "I flew off the handle. I hit her with a hammer axe thing. I hit her with it on the head quite a lot of times, I lost control."

Lord Doherty today said he was "satisfied" it was appropriate to make the two orders after hearing evidence from a consultant forensic psychiatrist.

Dr William Black, from the state hospital, found Geddes suffers from a mental disorder which can be treated with medication and "psychosocial treatment".

The Crown Office previously defended the decision to accept Geddes's plea to the lesser charge, saying it followed "unanimous psychiatric evidence" about his mental state at the time.

Mrs Geddes was educated and trained in Scotland before settling in Yorkshire.

She rose to become the head of midwifery at "Jimmy's" - St James's Hospital in Leeds.

When Leeds General Infirmary and Jimmy's merged, she was appointed head of midwifery.