Keith Bettison: Bus driver, 73, who choked wife, 48, to death on Halloween jailed for 14 years
Defendant told police ‘I killed the b****, what more do you want to know’ when found after Halloween murder
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A former bus driver who choked his wife to death in 2020 after mocking her in a “Punch and Judy” voice has been jailed for at least 14 years.
Keith Bettison, 73, murdered 48-year-old Ildiko Bettison at their home in Chessington, Surrey, on Halloween.
Sentencing at the Old Bailey, Judge Simon Mayo QC paid tribute to the couple’s daughter, Zsuzsika Bettison, for her “quiet dignity” in the trial.
The judge said Ms Bettison had described her mother as a “loving, kind and caring person” whose personality and behaviour was affected by alcohol. He told the defendant: “It is apparent to me, notwithstanding what you did to her mother, she still cares for you.”
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He said Bettison’s taunting behaviour towards his wife was cruel and that “she certainly did not deserve to die”.
“This was a killing which occurred in the heat of the moment. It did not involve a significant degree of premeditation and planning,” the judge said. “I am entirely satisfied you were irritated by her behaviour that night and you acted in anger when you strangled her to death.”
A trial at the Old Bailey heard Ms Bettison used to “idolise” her husband and would do anything for him. But about two years before her murder, their relationship changed and the couple began drinking heavily and arguing. The defendant crashed a bus while reversing and left his job before he could be sacked in June 2020.
The pandemic caused them to spend more time at home and things “became very difficult”, prosecutor Kate Bex QC told the court during the trial. The Old Bailey was also told neighbours heard the couple fighting during lockdown with the defendant putting on a “squeaky” voice.
The night before she died, Hungarian-born Ms Bettison turned up on her neighbour Debbie May’s doorstep wearing a small nightdress and holding a glass of gin and tonic. She showed her friend bruises on her arm and legs saying “it was him” before getting up to go home at about 11.30pm, the court heard.
At 1am on 31 October 2020 the defendant called his daughter to say, “I’ve killed her. I could not take it anymore.” He went on to ring 999, and said: “We had a fight and I think I’ve killed her – she’s dead.”
Police found Ms Bettison lying semi-naked and collapsed in bed. She was pronounced dead shortly after 2am. Despite later pleading not guilty to murder, when officers questioned him at the address, Bettison said: “I killed the b****, what more do you want to know?”
The prosecution claimed Bettison probably held his wife down from behind, for between 15 and 30 seconds. But the defendant told jurors he only held her throat in front for a few seconds after she drunkenly accused him of having an affair.
He said he then got up and went downstairs, expecting her to follow. The prosecution suggested the position of Ms Bettison’s body on the bed was inconsistent with the defendant’s account. Bettison denied murder but was found guilty by a jury in December.
Additional reporting by Press Association