Woman Jailed for Life After Faking Husband's Fatal Stabbing as an Accident
For months, David Berman's death was treated as a tragic household accident. A single post-mortem line changed everything.
Daryl Berman, 72, was sentenced at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 12 years for murdering her husband, David, 84, at their home in Prestwich.
What She Initially Told Police
Berman told officers that David had stumbled while carrying her lunch tray into the kitchen and fallen onto a knife on 13 March 2025.
She said she heard him say "It's OK, I slipped," followed by a groan, before she ran into the kitchen and found him face down and covered in blood.
Paramedics were called and worked on David in the kitchen, but he could not be revived and was pronounced dead at 2:39pm.
When officers arrived, Berman asked one of them: "You don't think I murdered him, do you?"
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The Detail That Unraveled the Story
David's account was initially accepted as an accident, but a Home Office post-mortem examination later concluded the stab wound to his chest bore the hallmarks of homicide, not a fall.
He also had a stab wound to his right middle finger, which prosecutors said was consistent with a common self-defence injury rather than an accidental fall.
Detective Inspector Alex Wilkinson of Greater Manchester Police's Major Incident Team said the post-mortem findings "exposed the truth" after Berman maintained the accident account "from the outset" and throughout the investigation.
Berman was arrested on suspicion of murder on 18 March 2025, five days after her husband's death.
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Two Trials to Reach a Verdict
An eight-day trial ended without a verdict in December 2025, after jurors were discharged when they could not reach a decision.
A retrial this year concluded with jurors convicting Berman of murder.
Sentencing her, Judge Tina Landale said it appeared David had ended up on the floor and that his wife had "stabbed him in the chest with severe force," though the exact trigger for the attack remained unclear.
The judge told Berman she was satisfied "something must have happened to cause you to lose your patience or temper," while noting Berman likely regretted the act immediately and called for an ambulance herself.
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A Marriage That Looked Ordinary From the Outside
Judge Landale described the case as "a domestic incident against a background of a decades-long happy marriage," noting the couple were said to have "adored each other" with no apparent problems visible to those around them.
Berman was said to be "coping" with her husband's health issues, including his recent diagnosis of vascular dementia, and was described in court as "nurturing and caring towards him."
After calling for an ambulance, she also called her husband's children so they could see him before he died.
Neighbours in the quiet Prestwich street described the couple as quiet and private, and many said they struggled to believe such a violent act had happened there.
The Family's Account
David's son, also named Daryl, told the court he sensed his father's life was in danger from the "tone of her voice" on the phone.
He said the kitchen scene "strangely seemed like a crime scene already" when he arrived, and that what he saw there has been "difficult to shake out of my head."
He described his father's wife as appearing "fairly calm, considering what had happened."
David's daughter, Debbie Davis, told the court: "I know my father was 84, but he still had some good years ahead of him. I feel bereft and cheated."
Berman showed no visible reaction as she was led from the dock to begin her sentence.
TL;DR
- Daryl Berman, 72, was jailed for life with a minimum of 12 years for murdering her husband David, 84.
- She initially told police he had fallen onto a knife by accident.
- A post-mortem concluded the stab wound bore the hallmarks of homicide, not an accident.
- An earlier trial in December 2025 ended without a verdict before a retrial produced a conviction.
- The judge described the case as a domestic incident within a "decades-long happy marriage."
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World News Correspondent
Rachel Hayes reports on international affairs, geopolitics, and breaking world news. Based in London, she covers stories shaping the UK and global political landscape.
