Jealous husband murdered his wife and their two children because he wrongly suspected her of cheating

A jealous husband who murdered his estranged wife and two young children jumped to his death from a cliff where he had proposed to her 17 years earlier, an inquest heard.

Paul Newman, 42, battered wife Geraldine, 51, to death with a hammer and then stabbed his son and daughter to death, the hearing was told.

He murdered them after wrongly believing Geraldine was cheating on him with another man.

He then took a 180 mile train journey from Leeds to the Isle of Anglesey in Wales and threw himself from the top of a 240ft cliff, where he had proposed years earlier.

The bodies of Geraldine and their children, Shannon, 11, and Shane, 6, were discovered at the family home Allerton Bywater near Leeds on February 2, 2016.

Unemployed driver Newman's body was found at the bottom of the cliff in Wales the same day.


Wakefield Coroner's Court heard Newman had struck his wife in the head with a hammer at least three times then laid her body out on the living room sofa and covered it with a duvet.

He stabbed Shannon and Shane in the chest and neck 22 times and then laid their bodies on a bed and covered them with a duvet, a statue of Jesus, rosary beads and crosses, the court heard.

Officers recovered a note from the scene that detailed 'how much he loved' his children.

Corner Kevin McLoughlin said: 'Geraldine Newman was unlawfully killed along with her two young children at their home.

'No one foresaw what was going to happen. There were no explicit threats.





MailOnline