'Jealous' husband guilty of murdering his university academic wife after wrongly suspecting her of having affair
27 October 2023, 11:32
A 'jealous' husband who stabbed his university lecturer wife to death with a kitchen knife in their home after wrongly suspecting she was cheating on him has been found guilty of murder.
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Ertan Ersoy, 51, stabbed Dr Antonella Castelvedere 'many times, causing 15 areas of sharp force injury' to her face, neck, upper chest and to both hands, prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC said.
The defendant had suspected his wife was cheating on him, Chelmsford Crown Court was told, and he had previously placed a listening device in their home in Colchester.
The listening device "proved no such thing" about Ersoy's suspicions that his wife was being unfaithful, the barrister said.
Mr Paxton had told Ersoy's trial: "In short and simple terms, we the prosecution say it was this defendant's anger, jealousy and his failings that led to him killing his wife."
Dr Castelvedere, 52, a lecturer at the University of Suffolk who led an MA course in English and creative writing, was found dead on the kitchen floor of their home on June 1 last year.
Mr Paxton said Ersoy, also a lecturer and teaching fellow, had called emergency services and went out into the street and called for help after stabbing his wife.
Ersoy denied his wife's murder but was found guilty following a trial, Essex Police said.
He had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and claimed in his defence he was suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning at the time, but this was rejected by jurors.
In a statement released through police, the family of Dr Castelvedere expressed their thanks for the "respect shown towards Antonella".
They said this was "respect that Antonella did not have from her husband".
They also thanked "all the people involved and the delicacy with which they communicated to us the developments of this tragic story", adding: "Respect is important for those who remain."
Detective Chief Inspector Ant Alcock, of the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate, said afterwards: "Ertan Ersoy is a clever, manipulative and calculated man, but his defence was based on a lie which was found out.
"He claimed he had an abnormality of mental functioning that substantially affected his judgment and self-control, this abnormality was described by experts as mild to moderate depression which the jury did not agree was sufficient to reduce his conviction to manslaughter.
"He was a man who sought to control his wife's life and that ultimately culminated in a cruel and brutal attack in June last year.
"As an investigation team, we are very aware that no verdict will ever bring Antonella back but we hope that the jury's decision will be of some comfort to them."
Ersoy is due to be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday.
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