| Killing of Richard Challen | |
| Image Alt: | Photograph of a middle-aged man |
| Date: | 14 August 2010 |
| Location: | Claygate, Surrey, England |
| Reported Deaths: | Richard Challen |
| Convicted: | Sally Challen |
On the morning of 14 August 2010, Richard Challen was killed by his wife Georgina 'Sally' Challen (née Jenney)[1] [2] in Claygate, Surrey, England.[3] Sally, 56 at the time, beat the 61-year-old retiree with a hammer 20 times, killing him, after he told her not to question him.[3] She then covered the body and left a note that said, "I love you. Sally."[4] The killing occurred in the kitchen of the couple's marital home.[3] On the following day, Sally travelled to Beachy Head, intending to kill herself.[3]
She was initially convicted of murder, but the conviction was later quashed on appeal and she pleaded guilty to manslaughter.[5] The case is the subject of the BBC Two documentary The Case of Sally Challen.[6]
Sally, the youngest of five children, was the daughter of a brigadier in the Royal Engineers who died when she was six years old. She was raised by her mother in Surrey and attended school up to O-levels.[2] She met Richard, a car dealer, when she was 15 years old and they married in 1979.[7] They had two sons, David and James.[8]
At Guildford Crown Court in Surrey in June 2011, she was convicted of his murder after a seven-day trial, for which she was jailed for life.[3] [5] Coercive control became a criminal offence in 2015.[3] In February 2019 at the Court of Appeal in London, her conviction was quashed and a retrial ordered in light of her having adjustment disorder at the time she killed her husband.[3] [5] Her appeal was based partly on her undiagnosed mental health conditions; she had been treated for bipolar disorder, dependent personality disorder and adjustment disorder while in prison.[9] Sally admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and pleaded not guilty to murder.[5] She was due to be retried on 1 July 2019.[5] However, on 7 June 2019 at the Old Bailey in London, her plea was accepted and the retrial cancelled.[5] The judge said that Challen controlled, isolated and humiliated his wife and was frequently unfaithful to her.[5] He sentenced her to nine years and four months' imprisonment, which she had already served.[5] Sally's son David supported her and fought for her in the media; he felt the murder could have been prevented.[9]
In May 2020, Judge Paul Matthews, sitting in the High Court in Bristol, ruled that Sally could inherit the estate of the deceased Challen, which is valued at £1 million.[10] [4]