A jealous husband who beat his wife to death with their son’s skateboard in a “brutal and deliberate" attack at their Suffolk family home has been given a life sentence for her murder.
Sentencing 48-year-old Olubunmi Abodunde, Judge Martyn Levett described the killing of 41-year-old mother of three Taiwo Abodunde as “ ferocious, ruthless, cold blooded, callous and savage."
He said that following the murder Abodunde had said very little about what had happened and had answered "no comment " during police interviews.
"The simple fact is that you strangled your wife and then beat her to death and used one of the children's skateboards to batter her skull."
He ordered Abodunde to serve a minimum of 17 years of a life sentence before he could be considered for release by the parole board.
Abodunde pleaded guilty to murder last month after initially denying the charge and sentence was adjourned until today. ( Thursday May 9).
The court heard that police officers who were waiting outside for permission from a senior officer to enter the family home in Newmarket last November heard around 50 thuds coming from inside the property, which Abodunde had entered despite bail conditions imposed the previous day banning him from going there following another violent incident.
When they finally entered the property around 25 minutes later, they found Mrs Abodunde's lifeless body with her 'skull smashed in.
Stephen Spence KC, prosecuting, said the couple moved to the UK from Nigeria with their children in 2022 and Mrs Abodunde had got a job as health care assistant nurse at a care home in Cambridge while her husband, who had trained as a civil engineer, was unable to find work in his profession.
He worked at Tesco and Wickes and there were arguments about money and bills, the court heard.
Mr Spence said the defendant became convinced his wife was having affairs and police were called to the house on a number of occasions for domestic violence.
On November 27 last year, the day before the killing, police were called to the family home and saw that Mrs Abodunde had an injury to her lip.
Abodunde was arrested and taken to Bury St Edmunds police station but was later released and given bail conditions ordering him not to return to the family home in Exning Road or contact his wife.
On the evening of the 27th Mrs Abodunde went to work in Cambridge and came back home the next morning to find her husband there.
There was an argument and just before police turned up at 9.20am to take a statement from Mrs Abodunde in relation to the incident the night before, she was beaten to death, the court heard.
Officers did not enter until 9.55am when they were given permission by a senior officer
The court heard that during the 34 minutes the officers were outside they heard 49 thuds which Mr Spence suggested were the defendant continuing to attack his wife when she was unconscious, if not dead.
When the police went in Mrs Abodunde was “obviously dead” having suffered "catastrophic head and brain injuries" including a shattered skull, the court heard.
A post-mortem found injuries to her neck and Mr Spence suggested she was strangled until she was unconscious, then stamped on until her ribs were broken and then beaten to the head with a wooden skateboard so hard that the skateboard was damaged.
The court heard Abodunde was initially taken to hospital because he appeared to have had “some sort of mental episode”, said Mr Spence.
Nneka Akudolu KC for Abodunde said her client believed the medication he was taking at the time had affected his behaviour in some way although this wasn’t accepted by the prosecution.
She said he had no previous convictions and had killed his wife in a “sudden explosion of violence”.
She said that prior to the killing both the defendant and his wife had used relatively low violence towards each other.
She said that in Nigeria he had been well respected and had a local street named after him.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating Suffolk Police for potential misconduct over prior contact with Mrs Abodunde before her death.
Suffolk Police referred itself to the IOPC, in line with standard procedure, following her murder.
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