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A grandfather brutally beat his wife to death with a walking stick during a drunken row, a court heard.
Charles Forster, 63, told Susan, his wife of 28 years, during the attack that if she didn't get up off the floor he would 'f****** kill' her.
Police said he is likely to 'die in prison' after he was jailed for a minimum term of just over 13 years yesterday. He had earlier pleaded guilty to murder.
Sentenced to life: Grandfather Charles Forster, 63, battered his wife Susan to death with a metal walking stick. A judge told him he was likely to die in prison
Prosecuting Graham Reeds QC said the neighbour had been smoking outside in her yard in Coundon, County Durham on May 16 this year, while the attack took place.
'She could hear what was going on,' he said.
'She heard the defendant shouting "get up off the floor".
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Share'She then heard Susan saying that she couldn't. She could see the defendant at the window.
'She heard him count down from ten with an ultimatum for her to get up, or he would give her a beating.
'She heard the defendant say 'do you want to die? I'm going to f****** kill you.'
The neighbour could see Forster but not his wife through a window, and saw him beat her with his metal walking stick.
Mr Reeds said: 'The witness described Mr Forster's face as "gurning" as he beat down with his stick.
'He raised the stick above his head and brought it down.'
The horrified neighbour quickly called 999.
Meanwhile, the court heard, Forster left his wife's body on the living room floor and went to the house of another neighbour.
There he asked his friends for help, saying: 'Can you do me a favour? She's sackless drunk again - can you help me move up her upstairs?'
When the police arrived, Forster was heard to say to Susan, 'Ha'way Susan, get up.'
Forster was then arrested for the suspected murder of his wife and taken to Bishop Auckland police station.
Paramedics attended to Mrs Forster but she was pronounced dead at the scene at 2.48am.
Mrs Forster, who worked as a full time carer at a nursing home, suffered 21 blunt force injuries to her head and neck, 11 fractured ribs and numerous bruises as a result of the attack.
Her hair was matted with blood and her limbs were covered in bruises, including some on her left upper arm where she had tried to defend herself.
Forensic pathologists, examining the scene, discovered a trail of blood through the house that suggested that the attack had started in an upstairs bedroom.
The rubber tip of Forster's metal walking stick had fallen off during the attack and was found covered in blood.
Traces of Mrs Forster's skin was also found on the defendant's feet.
Jailed: Forster admitted murder at Newcastle Crown Court, and will serve a minimum of 13 years and 159 days
The couple's long marriage had come under strain since the death of Mrs Forster's brother and mother, and the couple were both heavy drinkers.
The court heard the row that led to Mrs Forster's death began when Forster returned from a night drinking at Coundon Working Men's Club to find his wife was also drunk.
Eric Elliott QC, defending, said: 'Charles was totally incapable of helping her because of his own problems.
'He was suffering from a form of depression. He had long-standing epilepsy, he suffered from very worrying aneurysm and vascular problems.
'He also suffered from arthritis. Drinking only served to fuel the problems that they had.'
The court heard how the relationship had a background of domestic violence, the latest incident being on April 20 when a domestic abuse unit interviewed the couple.
After a visit from police, Forster appeared contrite and ashamed and promised to cut down on his drinking.
But following her death the Independent Police Complaints Commission launched an investigation regarding how Durham Constabulary dealt with concerns about Mrs Forster's welfare.
The IPCC is looking into an admission by the force that it had contact with her four times before her death and the investigation is still ongoing.
Sentencing Forster to life imprisonment, Recorder James Goss said: 'It was a brutal killing in her own home.
'It was the culminating event of a relationship blighted latterly by alcoholism on both sides.
'All of the family have the sympathy of the court. By your own actions you have cut yourself off from them.'
Speaking on behalf of the defendant, Mr Elliott said: 'He is consumed with regret and remorse for what he did.
'That is not the product of self pity, it's the product of the realisation of the effects of what he did to his wife, his children and his grandchildren.
'He has nothing, and he has nobody. He acknowledges that he will die in prison.'
The court also heard victim personal statements from Mrs Forster's family, which told of their devastation at losing their mother and their difficulty in coming to terms with her death.
Speaking outside court, one of Mrs Forster's sons, Anthony, said: 'We hope we can move on in the new year. We would just like to thank family and friends for all of their support.'
Standing alongside his sister Kathryn and brother, Michael, Anthony was asked if he thought justice had been served.
He answered: 'Yes and no, and that's all I'm going to say.'
Speaking after the court case, Detective Superintendent Paul Goundry said: 'I think justice has been done today.
'It's likely that Charles Forster will spend the rest of his life in prison.
'My heart goes out to the family, who are devastated by the loss.
'This case must ring alarm bells for other victims of domestic violence.
'They must look at this and see the similarities, and hopefully they will break free.'
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