A HUSBAND accused of battering his wife to death with a blunt instrument while their children slept upstairs has appeared in court.Colin Dorey, 42, appeared before magistrates in Bury St Edmunds yesterday charged with murdering his 37-year-old wife Christine.

A HUSBAND accused of battering his wife to death with a blunt instrument while their children slept upstairs has appeared in court.

Colin Dorey, 42, appeared before magistrates in Bury St Edmunds yesterday charged with murdering his 37-year-old wife Christine.

Christine's body was found on Thursday night lying on the sofa in the living room of their home in Bedell Close, Bury St Edmunds.

Police went to the house after receiving a call at around 11pm that day and discovered Mrs Dorey's body. Her husband was later arrested in the town centre.

Paul Forshaw, prosecuting, told the court a post mortem examination revealed Mrs Dorey had died of at least 10 blows to the head with a blunt instrument.

No application for bail was made and Dorey, who works as a chef in Cambridge, was remanded in custody to appear at Ipswich Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on January 15.

Mrs Dorey's death has shocked many people in the town, including staff at Westgate Primary School where she was a parent governor.

Headteacher Brian Cash described it as a "very sad start to the new year".

"We are all devastated by the death of Mrs Christine Dorey who was a very supportive parent of the school as well as an active school governor," he said.

"She was a very nice person and would often come and help out at the school."

All three of the couple's children are now staying with relatives nearby.

The murder also stunned residents of the quiet cul-de-sac, where the couple lived, and mourners have left bouquets of flowers at the doorstep of the house where Mrs Dorey's body was discovered.