A woman charged with murdering her husband wept in court as she listened to her son describe what happened the night his father died.
Lucille Sarah Scollay has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering 48-year-old Guy Christian Scollay at their St Albans home in February 2013. They had been married for more than 20 years.
Lucille Scollay in the dock at the High Court in Christchurch. Photo: CHRISTCHURCH STAR / Pool
Crown prosecutor Mark Zarifeh told the High Court in Christchurch on Tuesday the 45-year-old was unhappy in the relationship with her husband, who was suffering from severe depression and anxiety.
Mr Zarifeh said Ms Scollay told police she felt desperate as she entered the room with the knife.
"She approached the bed and taking hold of his shoulder she rolled him onto his back. He may have mumbled something - either still in his sleep or perhaps half awake. She then climbed onto the bed and sat on top of him, straddling him. She then brought this knife up and stabbed him in the chest."
Defence lawyer Rupert Glover says Ms Scollay accepts that her actions resulted in the death of her husband, but has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder.
Louis Scollay was in the house at the time his father died and said both parents were depressed and unmotivated for years, and his father would rarely leave the house.
The 20-year-old said he heard his mother shriek "What have I done?" before she came and told him she had stabbed her husband.
Louis Scollay told the court she was immediately remorseful as the pair tried to save him.
"Mum was saying she was sorry and he was saying it was okay. Mum was pacing around the house very fast and radically, trying to do anything she could to stop the bleeding. She kept telling my father to hold on. She told him, 'If you're going to do one thing in your life, that's to come out of this alive'".
As the court adjourned, Louis Scollay embraced his mother, who was crying and told him she was sorry for him having to give evidence.
