Keith Bettison: 'Punch and Judy' killer who strangled wife after she 'irritated' him jailed for 14 years

A former bus driver who killed his wife and then told police "I killed the f***ing b****", has been jailed for at least 14 years.

Keith Bettison, 73, strangled Ildiko Bettison, 48, to death at their home in Chessington in October 2020, after mocking her with a "Punch and Judy voice", jurors were told.

He was jailed for life on Monday, and told to serve a minimum of 14 years behind bars.

Sentencing at the Old Bailey, Judge Simon Mayo QC paid tribute to the couple’s daughter, Zsuzsika Bettison, for her “quiet dignity” in the trial.

Ms Bettison had described her mother as a “loving, kind and caring person” whose personality and behaviour was affected by alcohol, he said.

The judge told the defendant: “It is apparent to me, notwithstanding what you did to her mother, she still cares for you.”

He said Bettison’s taunting behaviour towards his wife was cruel, saying: “She did not deserve that – she certainly did not deserve to die.”

He went on: “This was a killing which occurred in the heat of the moment. It did not involve a significant degree of premeditation and planning.

“I am entirely satisfied you were irritated by her behaviour that night and you acted in anger when you strangled her to death.”

The Old Bailey heard Mrs Bettison used to “idolise” her husband and would do anything for him.

But around two years ago, their relationship changed and the couple began drinking heavily and arguing.

The defendant crashed a bus while reversing and quit the job before he could be sacked in June 2020.

Prosecutor Kate Bex said the pandemic exacerbated tensions between the couple, as the couple were forced to spend more time at home and things “became very difficult”.

Their neighbour, Debbie May, heard the couple's rows as the walls between their houses were thin, jurors heard.

Ms Bex said: “Debbie May says that not long before Ilde died she had fallen down the stairs when she was drunk.

“She heard the defendant tormenting her by mimicking her in a squeaky Punch and Judy type of voice. She heard him call her a fat cow.”

On another occasion, Mrs Bettison told her she had thrown a mirror at him, which hit the front door instead.

On October 26 last year, Mrs Bettison had a black eye and told Ms May: “Look, he’s punched me.”

The night before she died, Mrs Bettison turned up on Ms May’s doorstep wearing a small nightdress and holding a glass of gin and tonic.

She showed her friend bruises on her arm and legs saying “it was him” before getting up to go home at around 11.30pm, the court heard.

On the night of the killing shortly after 1am, Bettison called his daughter and said: “I’ve killed her. I could not take it any more.”

When he rang 999, he told the call handler: “We had a fight and I think I’ve killed her, she’s dead.”

While being questioned at the house, Bettison shouted at officers: "I killed the f***ing b****, what more do you want to know."

Police raced to the scene and found Mrs Bettison lying semi-naked and collapsed in bed.

Despite best efforts by medics, she was pronounced dead shortly after 2am.

While in custody, the defendant said: “She gets angry and hits me and I have to hit her back, what can you do?”

Before her death, Mrs Bettison had confided in a friend that her husband had previously put her in a strangle hold, with his arm around her neck, the court was told.

Jurors were told this type of “carotid sleeper hold” could be how Mrs Bettison was choked when she died.

The prosecution claimed Bettison probably held his wife down from behind, for between 15 and 30 seconds.

Forensic examinations found Ildiko had died from "sustained pressure to the neck", with bruising found on her face and upper body.

But Bettison told jurors he only held her throat in front for a few seconds after she drunkenly accused him of having an affair.

The jury had rejected Bettison’s claim that the death was a tragic accident or that he had been acting in self defence.

Judge Mayo told him: “I am satisfied you constricted both sides of your wife’s neck until she lost consciousness and you maintained pressure on her neck until her life drained away.”

He said Mrs Bettison had been vulnerable due to alcohol and depression and had been entitled to feel safe in her home.

But he concluded that he could not be sure the defendant had intended to kill his wife, and sentenced him on the basis that he meant to cause her really serious harm.