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Life Sentence for Ex-Husband Who Murdered Former Wife at Son’s Grave

Prosecutors described a planned graveside ambush on his late son’s birthday using a kitchen knife followed by the victim’s own scissors.

Overview

  • Portsmouth Crown Court jailed Martin Suter, 68, for life with a minimum term of 27 years and 230 days for murdering his ex-wife, Ann Blackwood.
  • He went to Crofton Cemetery on 24 July 2023 and waited more than five hours, anticipating her visit to their son Christopher’s grave.
  • The attack began with a large kitchen knife that broke, after which he repeatedly stabbed her with the scissors she brought to trim flowers, with 19 wounds reported in court.
  • Suter called 999 from the scene and admitted the killing, later blaming Blackwood for their son’s death, which a coroner had ruled accidental in 2003.
  • Judge Michael Bowes KC condemned the killing as an act of wickedness, and the court added custodial time for Suter’s earlier indecent-assault conviction.