London - A bank worker accused of murdering his wife with a crowbar "deserved a medal" for ever putting up with her, his mother-in-law has told a court.
David Pomphret, 51, bludgeoned his wife Ann Marie, 49, after he finally snapped from all the abuse he suffered, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
Pomphret, a technology expert with Barclays, struck her head with the crowbar more than 30 times at the stables they owned near the home they shared with daughter Megan, 18, in Warrington, Cheshire.
He admits killing his wife on November 2 last year, but denies murder on the grounds of a temporary loss of control.
He was a "quiet man" who finally snapped, the jury of seven women and five men has been told.
Carol Buckley, the victim’s mother, said in a statement read to the jury: "David was an angel. He deserved a medal for putting up with Marie. I could not have wished for a better son-in-law or dad for Megan."
Miss Buckley said her daughter married the defendant in 1997 and they shared an interest in horses. She described her daughter as the "driving force" in the relationship.
Miss Buckley also said her daughter could easily "take the huff", blocking her on Facebook over something she had said, and that three years before her death she had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, which can affect a person’s social skills.
Kenneth Crane, Miss Buckley’s partner, said in a statement: "Marie, … was a Jekyll and Hyde character. She was like a volcano. She could erupt at any time without warning. I would describe David as a very quiet bloke."
The Pomphrets’ daughter Megan is a keen rider who has competed in dressage events around the North-West. Jurors were told that she said her mother was ‘not the easiest person at the best of times’.
On November 2 last year Pomphret rang 999 claiming to have found his wife lying in a pool of blood at the stables. He told the call handler: "There is brain and blood everywhere, and it looks like she has had her head beaten in."
He was arrested the day after and protested his innocence before being released.
He was re-arrested six months later and charged with murder.
The court has heard that he lashed out with a crowbar after she called him useless and described Meghan as a "fat slag".
A post-mortem examination concluded that his wife died from a violent assault, with severe head injuries caused by more than 30 blows to her head with a crowbar.
The court heard that Mrs Pomphret was receiving treatment for cancer at the time of her death.
Gordon Cole QC, prosecuting, told the jury Mrs Pomphret’s death was not through a temporary loss of control by her husband but due to his "loss of temper", adding that it was a case of murder.
The trial continues.