See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy ANDREW LEVY, REPORTER Published: 17:08 BST, 8 June 2026 | Updated: 17:10 BST, 8 June 2026
A man has been charged with the murder of his wife nearly seven years after an attack with a hammer that left her needing round-the-clock care.Police were called to a property in Lowestoft, Suffolk, on September 9, 2019, and found Sarah Crush, then 39, with serious head injuries.Her husband, Stephen – who had rung 999 to say he had killed her - later admitted attempted murder and was jailed for 13-and-a-half years in 2020.Crush had battered his wife ‘at least three times’ about the head with a lump hammer following an argument at their three-bedroom terraced house, Ipswich Crown Court heard at the time.The couple’s nine-year-old son was upstairs as the violence unfolded in the property.Mrs Crush was rushed to Addenbrooke’s Hospital by air ambulance but was left permanently disabled and died aged 45 on December 21 last year. Stephen Crush, 65, has been charged with the murder of his wife Sarah, who died last year - five years after he admitted attempting to murder herAn inquest earlier this year heard from Detective Chief Inspector Matt Adamas who said the injuries she sustained left her unable to walk or talk and meant she was unable to look after herself.She lost the sight in one eye and was deaf in one ear and was unable to swallow. All communication was done painstakingly through a letter board.Mrs Crush was being cared for at a residential care home in Northampton, the hearing was told but was diagnosed with cancer in April last year and placed in palliative care as she was unable to have surgery.The provisional cause of death was given as respiratory failure and traumatic brain injury.Nigel Parsley, the senior coroner for Suffolk, formally opened the inquest on January 23 and adjourned it to a date yet to be confirmed.Crush, 65, who had a conviction for assaulting his wife before the 2019 attack, was charged with her murder after she passed away. Police were called to a property in Lowestoft, Suffolk, on September 9, 2019, and found Mrs Crush, then 39, with serious head injuriesHe appeared before magistrates in Ipswich on Friday and was remanded in custody after the case was passed to the town’s crown court for a hearing due to take place tomorrow.Speaking after the attempted murder conviction, Mrs Crush’s sister, Katie Middleton, described her as a ‘thoughtful, caring and compassionate’ person.She added: ‘It’s difficult to know how aware Sarah is. She is a mum, daughter, sister, cousin, niece and loyal friend to many and it is so cruel that her life has been impacted in this way.’
