Husband who murdered wife and daughter at their Suffolk home thought they were his 'property'

A "self-pitying" husband who killed his wife and daughter because he considered them his "property" has been found guilty of their murder.

Peter Nash, 47, strangled his wife Jillu before stabbing his 12-year-old daughter Louise once in the stomach at their home in Suffolk in September last year.

A trial at Ipswich Crown Court was told that the couple had had an unhappy marriage, and that Mrs Nash had been planning to leave her husband and set up home with a work colleague with whom she had been having a relationship.

A jury took less than two hours to find him guilty of two counts of murder, said Suffolk Police.

The force said Nash's defence had “rested on his belief that he ‘lawfully killed’ his wife and daughter”.

“His attempts to justify this were through his interpretation of common law, property and marriage vows,” said a spokesman.

The force added that Nash “believed he ‘lawfully killed’ Louise as she was his ‘property’ and he did it to protect her because he did not trust anyone else to look after her, as she had complex care needs due to being non-verbal and diagnosed as autistic”.

Officers had to use a Taser to disarm Nash after they broke into the family home in Heath Estate in Great Waldingfield near Sudbury.

Prosecutor David Josse KC told the jury: “The defendant and Mrs Nash had a difficult and unhappy marriage.

"They married in 2009 and the stresses and strains of that relationship were undoubtedly compounded by Peter Nash losing his job by redundancy in 2020.”

Nash had been watching Tiktok videos about relationships and the ways in which men and women were treated differently, the court heard.

Mr Josse said that the social media videos, accessed by the defendant, showed the “embittered” and “self-pitying” mindset which he had.

Mr Josse said that Nash was “largely responsible" for the care of their autistic daughter Louise, who was “non-verbal, only able to say a few words”.

In recordings made by Mrs Nash of arguments with her husband the month before she was killed, he called her “a schemer who caused chaos to gain attention”.

“When he suggested she had been cheating on him for some four months, she corrected him and told him it was eight months,” said Mr Josse.

In another clip, Mrs Nash tells her husband “you’re a certified c***”, and he replies “you’re a validated cheater”.

He said that Mrs Nash and a work colleague were seen together on 7 September, and hours later Nash killed his wife and daughter. He then tried to kill himself but failed.

After strangling his wife and stuffing a T-shirt in her mouth, Nash tried to fill the house with gas.

When this failed, he stabbed Louise and himself a number of times, before they were discovered by emergency services.

He has been remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on May 17.

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