As it happened: Friday, January 24

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A man strangled his wife at a hotel on Valentine’s Day while suffering a drug-induced psychosis that sparked paranoia that she had stolen his driver’s licence.

Jeffrey James Godfrey, 53, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday, accused of killing his wife of 27 years, Vanessa Godfrey, 46, at the Pelican Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast on February 14, 2022.

Prosecutor Matthew Le Grand said Godfrey had been a heavy meth user for more than 10 years before he became increasingly paranoid and started experiencing delusions.

Vanessa Godfrey with partner Jeffrey James Godfrey, who was charged over her death. Credit: Facebook

Le Grand said the night before the attack, while the couple were away at a friend’s birthday weekend, Godfrey realised he was missing his driver’s licence and Medicare card, and believed his wife had stolen them.

He confronted her about it and asked if “his whole life had been a lie” before the pair slept.

On Valentine’s Day morning, Godfrey asked her husband to massage her neck. During the massage, he again asked if his “whole life had been a lie” before putting his arm around her neck and strangling her.

Godfrey sat looking at his wife’s limp body and thought he saw her breathe, so he took a knife and cut her arms.

He then drank alcohol, took valium tablets and cut his arms over several hours before hotel staff found him passed out on the floor and his wife in a pool of blood on the bed.

Godfrey confessed to police that he killed his wife and was charged with murder. This was later downgraded to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility.

Justice Glenn Martin will hand down his sentence on January 30.

If you or anyone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (see lifeline.org.au), Beyond Blue on1300 22 4636 (see beyondblue.org.au) or 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).

AAP

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