Jurors acquit 'cat confession' man - then hug him - Update

A pensioner who was accused of killing his partner and then confessing to his pet cats was cleared of murder and manslaughter today – and then hugged by members of the jury before leaving the courtroom.

Mr Henton, 73, from Neath, South Wales, was accused of brutally bludgeoning his long-term partner, Joyce Sutton, to death after "snapping" in January 2006.

There were gasps from the public gallery at Swansea Crown Court as the forewoman of the jury declared Mr Henton not guilty of either murder or the alternative charge of manslaughter.



After a seven-week trial in which they heard that police secretly bugged his home and car and apparently caught him confessing murder to pets Twinkie and Pudsey, jurors had taken 12 hours of deliberation to reach their verdict.

Mr Justice Grigson thanked the jury of nine women and three men for their patience during the 41 days of the trial. As Mr Henton was led from court by his solicitors, the family of Joyce Sutton hurled abuse at him. Anna Sutton, Mrs Sutton's daughter-in-law, had to be held back from attacking the pensioner in the foyer area outside Court No.1.

In a rare breach of normal courtroom protocol, Mr Henton was then approached by members of the jury, who hugged and congratulated him. Legal experts and officials said that they had never heard of jurors approaching a defendant after a trial and questioned the propriety of such behaviour.