Woman pleads guilty to manslaughter of partner

Dec 12 2006 By Hilary Clixby,

The Journal

A woman accused of killing her partner, found dead at their home, yesterday admitted a charge of manslaughter.

Terri Milburn was due to stand trial at Newcastle Crown Court charged with the murder of father-of-three Philip Hewitt between June 11 and 14 this year.

But her plea to the lesser offence of manslaughter on the basis of lack of intent was accepted by the prosecution after consulting members of the victim's family.

Milburn, 32, was further remanded in custody after the case was adjourned until the week of February 5 by Judge John Milford for probation and psychiatric reports.

Mr Hewitt was found in a pool of blood across the stairs of the home he shared with Milburn in Bede Avenue on Durham's Sherburn Road Estate. Police and paramedics had attended the rented house after a 999 call from a neighbour at 6.40am.

A post-mortem examination revealed the 32-year-old had suffered a head injury and died from blood loss. Mr Hewitt, who has a son and two daughters, had worked in a BT call centre a year before becoming a postman.

His parents, Ann and Ken, said at the time their son - who was born and raised in the Durham area - was a devoted father whose death had devastated his family.

Adjourning the case, Judge John Milford told Milburn: "You have pleaded guilty to the grave offence of manslaughter. In due course I will sentence you and you have been warned what the likely sentence is by your own legal advisers. But before I fix what that sentence is, I will be assisted by a report from the probation service and the consultant psychiatrist."