Husband jailed for life for murdering his wife before pretending he found her hanging

A husband has been jailed for murdering his wife after he tried to convince police that she had hanged herself.

Ryan Timms, 44 of The Green, Hartshill has been sentenced to life with a minimum of 19 years in prison for the murder of his wife.

At 3:53am on Monday 31 July 2023 Warwickshire Police received a call about a woman in cardiac arrest after reportedly being discovered hanging by her husband.

Ambulance services took the woman to hospital but she later died on 3 August 2024.

Police became suspicious when they were talking to the husband and noticed that there were inconsistencies in his storytelling.

These included Timms saying he found his wife upstairs before taking her down, but attending officers observed that this would have been very difficult due to the narrow, cluttered staircase.

Post-mortems later suggested that she had not died by hanging and that in fact neck hold was likely the cause of death.

Ryan Timms was finally arrested on suspicion of murder 4 June 2024.

He was sentenced in Warwick Crown Court.

DCI Collette O’Keefe said “The prompt actions and meticulous attention to detail by the police and ambulance personnel established the foundation of the investigation.

“The death of this woman could easily have been categorised as a suicide if it wasn’t for the professional curiosity of attending officers and paramedics.

“The investigation into this death has been challenging and complex. There were a number of inconsistencies at the scene identified by the attending officers and paramedics which prompted the arrest of Ryan Timms.

“Ryan was arrested shortly after the woman was discovered. What followed was a comprehensive and intricate review of the couple’s life.

“She had suffered in silence for many years. The relationship was toxic and she suffered alone in silence. She kept the domestic abuse hidden from family, friends, and work colleagues. It was evident that she had wanted to leave.

“Our officers didn’t believe Ryan’s account that she had taken her own life. There were too many inconsistencies in his story.

“I would like to thank them for their curiosity, and to also thank the team who have worked tirelessly on this investigation for their perseverance and diligence.

“Nothing will bring her back, but I hope this outcome will bring reassurance to her family that justice has been done.

“We encourage any and all victims of domestic violence to come forward and tell us about it so we can prevent tragic events like this from happening in future.”

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