A SUFFOLK woman was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in a brutal attack by her husband who "flipped" after a row about her relationship with another man it was alleged.

A SUFFOLK woman was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in a brutal attack by her husband who "flipped" after a row about her relationship with another man it was alleged.

Christine Dorey 37 was resting on a settee at her home in Beddell Close, Bury St Edmunds when her husband Colin Dorey hit her at least ten times in the face and head with a club hammer that he had bought from B&Q earlier that day, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The couple's three children aged ten, nine and three were asleep upstairs during the attack said Nigel Peters QC prosecuting. Mrs Dorey suffered serious head injuries and was found lying lifeless on the settee covered from head to foot in a blanket by police officers who went to the house after receiving a 999 call from Dorey admitting that he had killed his wife.

Dorey later handed himself into the police and told them that he believed his wife was having an affair. He said that during a row on the evening of her death she had told him that if she was single she would have gone off with the other man "at the drop of a hat".

Dorey 43 a chef also of Beddell Close, Bury St Edmunds has denied murdering his wife on January 3.

The court has heard that he had admitted manslaughter but this plea has not been accepted by the prosecution.

Mr Peters said that the tragedy was that three children had been deprived of their mother and also their father who was arrested shortly after the incident.

Mr Peters claimed that Dorey had some idea that he was going to kill his wife because on the day in question he had gone out and bought a four pound club hammer. "It was very heavy. Even lifting it would be difficult let alone wielding it against someone's face," he said.

He said that during the trial the court would hear from witnesses that the Dorey's marriage had been going through difficult times and that Christine Dorey had become attracted to a man called Andrew Dell.

After Mrs Dorey's death police had looked at telephone records which showed that Mrs Dorey and Mr Dell had been in regular telephone contact and had been texting each other.

However, Mr Peters said that relationships failed all the time for many different reasons and this did not give someone the right to murder their partner out of frustration or revenge because they felt let down because the other party had gone off with someone else. "However bad a marriage is you don't kill your spouse," said Mr Peters.

He said there was no dispute that Dorey had killed his wife of ten years as he had admitted manslaughter.

"Murder requires an intent to cause death or grievous bodily harm. We say this defendant did have such intent when he killed his wife in the late hours of January 3," said Mr Peters.

At 10.35pm on January 3 a 999 call was received from Colin Dorey saying: "I've killed my wife. There's young children in the house upstairs in bed."

The trial continues today (Tues).