Jilted husband, 62, who slit sleeping disabled wife’s throat with scissors in bid to get his hands on her £1m family fortune will likely die in jail after being given 26-year life term for murder
- Raymond Hoadley, 62, jailed for murdering wife Jackie, 58, while she slept
- Couple had £1m in savings but Hoadley did not have bank account in own name
- Court heard he was terrified his wife would find someone else leaving him cut off
- His estranged wife Mrs Hoadley was found in the bedroom with seven stab wounds to the face and neck at the family home in Eastbourne on July 5 last year
- The jury took just one hour to convict Hoadley of murder at Lewes Crown Court
A jilted money-obsessed husband who murdered his disabled campaigner wife after forcing her to sign a contract handing him £1million will likely die in prison after being jailed for life.
Raymond Hoadley, 62, killed his estranged wife Jackie, 58, with a pair of the handheld cutters as she slept in the room next to their severely disabled daughter, before fleeing the scene.
Today he was brought to justice at Lewes Crown Court as the judge Judge Jeremy Gold QC told him he had killed her for money.
He said: ‘Having committed this dreadful murder, you returned home and carried on life as normal.
‘You had carefully planned the explanation that you would give to the police when suspicion fell upon you, as it inevitably would, and you spun a web of lies when interviewed in an attempt to avoid liability for your actions.’
The judge said there was clear evidence during the trial of Hoadley’s obsession with money.
‘Just a few days before you killed Jackie, you persuaded her to sign a document which ensured that you would benefit financially to a very significant extent in the event of her death,’ he added.
At his trial Hoadley, said to have had a scissors fetish with 100 pairs in his squalid bedsit, showed no emotion as he was told he could face life behind bars.
Their adopted nine-year-old daughter who is blind and cannot walk called out for help when her carer arrived more than 12 hours after the murder.
Murderer Hoadley, 62, was led into Lewes Crown Court by his handcuffs for his trial
Jackie, 57, and Ray Hoadley, 62, publicising the plight of their disabled children in 2019
The couple had £1million in savings and investments although Hoadley did not have a bank account in his own name.
He was terrified his wife would meet somebody else and he would be cut off from the money and property when they divorced.
The couple adopted two severely disabled children and lived in a specially adapted £300,000 house in Eastbourne.
Their fortune came from savings, investments and a £300,000 criminal injury payout for their daughter.
The court heard he had moved into a bedsit when their marriage disintegrated when Mrs Hoadley kicked him out.
Hoadley had tried to kill himself with an overdose and spent time in a mental health unit before returning to Eastbourne and moving into the studio apartment near the seafront.
The trial heard Hoadley had become obsessed with money and murdered Mrs Hoadley at home
He became obsessed with the price of food and would regularly shoplift rather than pay what he thought were high prices.
But he was unpopular with the others in his shared house who thought he was stealing their milk and food from the fridge.
Police found hundreds of pairs of scissors in the family home and the flat Hoadley moved into after the split from his wife.
Mrs Hoadley, who had lifelong struggles with her own health, was attacked in her sleep.
She was found in the bedroom with seven stab wounds to the face and neck at the family home in Eastbourne on July 5 last year.
Her carotid artery and jugular vein had been severed and defensive injuries showed she tried to fight off her attacker.
Murderer Hoadley killed his estranged wife in her bed as she slept in their Eastbourne house
Forensic examiners found a bloody print at the scene with a full match for Raymond Hoadley.
Hoadley washed himself and the murder weapon in a bathroom at the house before driving to the seafront where he threw it into the sea.
A beachcomber found a pair of plastic handled scissors washed up on the same beach a month later, the court heard.
Tight fisted Hoadley was so confident he would get away with murder, he asked court staff if Sussex police would pay for a taxi home when he was acquitted.
In contrast to her killer, Mrs Hoadley was a well-respected campaigner for disabled rights.
She successfully lobbied to change the law on providing free sanitary products for families caring for children with complex needs.
Ms Hoadley was found dead at the family home (above) in Eastbourne, East Sussex, in July
Tributes were paid after her body was found at the family home in Eastbourne on July 5 last year.
Hoadley did not give evidence at his trial and Caroline Carberry QC for the Crown told the jury the death of his estranged wife was needless, brutal and untimely.
She was a loving mother and cherished friend who was strangled, beaten and stabbed by her husband who was worried about losing money when they divorced, Ms Carberry said.
A woman in the next door bedsit to Mr Hoadley described a chilling foretelling of what was to come when she heard him on the phone to his wife a month before her body was found.
‘His angry and aggressive words, heard through the walls.
‘I’m going to kill you I’m going to strangle you’,’ Ms Carberry said.
Jackie and Ray Hoadley with their adopted children, who cannot be named for legal reasons
Hoadley drove a distinctive van adapted to carry wheelchairs which was spotted on CCTV and dash cam footage from a taxi heading towards the family home late on July 4 last year.
Earlier in the trial Ms Carberry QC told the jury: ‘Raymond Hoadley told friends he was frustrated with his wife and he wanted to divorce and sort out their finances.
‘He told friend his wife could have the £300,000 family home and the allowances for the children and he could have the rest.’
They were both directors of another £300,000 fund started from a criminal injury award given to their daughter.
Ms Carberry told the court Hoadley had drawn up an agreement between the couple after losing his temper with his wife
‘That document drawn up a very short time before his wife’s death, indicates his very real interest in the substantial financial affairs of the couple.’
The hand written contract, signed and dated on June 21 stated: ‘In the event of either of the above not being around, the remaining will be sole owner of all above assets, money and investments,’ Ms Carberry told the court.
‘You may find money had something to do with the motivation behind this killing,’ she had added.
In a statement shared after the jury returned the verdict, Jackie Hoadley’s family said: ‘Jackie was an exceptional lady who will be missed by all who knew and loved her.
‘We would like everyone to focus on the achievements of her life especially the positive impact she has made for disability awareness and not for the tragic circumstances surrounding her death.’
DCI Andy Wolstenholme of Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team said: ‘We welcome the jury decision to convict Raymond Hoadley of the murder of his wife.
‘It was a brutal and calculated attack and one that Raymond Hoadley consistently denied any involvement with.
‘He sought to disguise his guilt in a web of lies with a thin veneer of truth.
‘However, police, prosecution and ultimately jury were able to see through those lies and hold him to account for the terrible, terrible crime he committed.
‘Jacqueline leaves behind two children who she absolutely adored and spent her life caring for and it is our hope her memory will live on with those children and her wonderful family who have been so supportive throughout this entire investigation and trail.’
Mr Hoadley moved out of the family home in April after spending time in psychiatric care.
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