Daryl Berman, who claimed her husband, David Berman, had fallen in their kitchen and landed on a 'little knife', has been found guilty of his murder15:27, 23 Jun 2026Updated 16:06, 23 Jun 2026A woman who claimed her husband had fallen in their kitchen and landed on a "little knife" has been found guilty of his murder.‌Daryl Berman, 72, maintained throughout two trials that the death of her husband, David Berman, 84, was accidental. Mr Berman suffered a fatal chest wound during an incident at their home on Butterstile Lane, Prestwich, in March last year.‌On Tuesday, following a week-long retrial at Minshull Street Crown Court after jurors in the first trial were unable to reach verdicts, Berman was convicted of murder. Prosecutors said Berman deliberately stabbed her husband "for a reason known only to her", the Manchester Evening News reports.‌The court previously heard that Berman called emergency services at 1.55pm on March 13, 2025, to report that her husband had been injured. He was pronounced dead at their home at 2.39pm.Prosecutor Michael Brady KC said it was only later that a senior pathologist was called in after another doctor was "troubled" by the injury.‌Home Office pathologist Dr Philip Lumb reported that the stab wound had the "typical features of a homicide". He said that although it was not impossible, an accidental fall was "very unlikely to have caused the fatal wound". Mr Berman was also found to have a "defensive" wound to his finger.The couple’s 27-year marriage had been "loving and mutually supportive", with no record of domestic violence or police involvement, the court heard. Berman was described as a "very supportive and loving wife".Prosecutors said Mr Berman’s family noticed unusual aspects of the defendant’s behaviour in the days following his death. "Although there is no set way to respond to and deal with grief in the days following David's death, members of his family noticed how matter-of-fact and emotionless the defendant was," prosecutor Michael Brady KC said.‌Mr Brady told jurors that Berman's explanation that her husband's injury had been caused accidentally was initially accepted by police.The court heard Mr Berman had been diagnosed with dementia, used a walking stick and had been suffering from shortness of breath in the 10 days prior to his death. "However, he had been in the best health his family had seen for some time," Mr Brady added.‌Earlier on March 13, Mr Berman had been with his daughter and great-granddaughter at a play centre. Jurors were told Berman called 999 that afternoon and administered CPR under the instructions of the operator.Jurors also heard that when asked what happened, Berman said: "I don't know. I was in the other room. He's carried a tray in. And all I can see is the tray. I think there was a knife. I don't know whether the little knife that was there has gone into him and stabbed him. I really don't know what's happened."The first paramedic to arrive found Mr Berman lay on his back on the kitchen floor, the court heard. After a police officer arrived and spoke with Berman, she is said to have told him: "You don't think I've murdered him, do you?"‌Prosecutors said the officer also spoke with Mr Berman’s son, who described his father as "clumsy" and "always falling". The death was not initially treated as suspicious, but five days later a post-mortem examination raised concerns, the court heard.Berman was arrested on suspicion of murder later that evening. During interview, she said she and her husband had both had lunch in the lounge and that he had offered to take her tray into the kitchen.‌She told police: "And he obviously walked into the kitchen, and I heard what sounded like a stumble or a fall. And straight away I said: 'Oh my God, David, what's wrong?' He said: 'It's okay, I've slipped.'"And I sort of almost immediately heard another sort of bang, and a sort of groan. So I got up. I screamed and I ran into the kitchen."And I found him face down. He was making the most peculiar sound, I sort of looked down, moved his head a bit. And I thought: 'What on earth is all this gravy? We don't have gravy.' And it was the amount of blood, I've never seen anything like it in my life.‌"I got the shock of my life because I didn't know where it was coming from. I just... I just couldn't understand. And I was screaming, I said 'David, David'... I said 'you can't go like this.'"Giving evidence in her defence, she repeatedly broke down in tears. Asked how she felt after being told he had died, she said: "I didn't know what I was doing. I went into the kitchen on quite a few occasions because I just wanted to be with David. I took the sheet off his face and lay down next to him and cradled his head and told him I loved him."I didn't want to leave him, I wanted to lie next to him. It was the last thing I could do."‌Mr Hayton said: "The suggestion is that you murdered your husband of 27 years, did you?" Berman replied: "Why would I do that to the man I love? No."The barrister asked: "How do you explain how he came to die?" Berman said: "I have absolutely no idea, I wasn't in the room."Berman was remanded into custody and will be sentenced on July 3.Article continues belowSazeeda Ismail, senior Crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Daryl Berman stabbed her husband of 27 years in the chest and intentionally caused his death. She lied to paramedics, police and family members when she claimed Mr Berman had accidentally sustained his fatal injuries."The jury saw through her lies and convicted her of murder, due to the strength of the prosecution's case. My thoughts are with David Berman's loved ones at this very difficult time."