A 47-year-old man from Suffolk has been jailed for life after being convicted of murdering his wife and daughter at their home last year.
Peter Nash appeared before Ipswich Crown Court today where he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years.
Nash had been found guilty of two counts of murder at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday 12 May, following a four-week trial.
Nash’s crimes were discovered on the morning of Thursday 8 September 2022.
Friends of his wife Jillu Nash had become concerned when she didn’t turn up to work or respond to any phone calls. These concerns increased when it became apparent their daughter Louise had not attended school either.
Police arrived at the Nash’s home in Heath Estate where they found the doors locked and all the curtains closed. Officers then forced entry to the property and immediately smelled gas.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service were called before proceeding further inside and neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution.
Firefighters entered the house and discovered 43-year-old Jillu Nash and 12-year-old Louise Nash deceased inside. Peter Nash was found lying on the bed next to Louise, still holding a knife which he refused to release and had to be disarmed by police officers with the use of a taser.
Peter Nash had sustained a number of stab wounds to his chest and abdomen – which transpired to have been self-inflicted – and was taken to hospital under police arrest, where he remained for five weeks. He was charged with two counts of murder on Sunday 16 October and made his first court appearance the following day.
Home Office post-mortem examinations concluded that Jillu Nash had died as a result of compression of the neck and asphyxiation; and Louise Nash had died as a result of a stab wound to the abdomen.
During the trial the court heard that Jillu’s 13-year marriage to Peter had been a difficult and unhappy one and that she had planned to leave her husband, which he had been aware of for at least two months.
In early 2022, Jillu had entered into a relationship with another man and had intended to move in with him. Peter had become aware she was seeing someone by the end of August, if not sooner.
During his evidence to the court, Nash said that on the night of Wednesday 7 September, he had discovered photographs of another man in Jillu’s possessions. When he confronted her about them, he believed her answer to be a lie and then began to strangle her for 5-10 minutes until she passed out. He then stuffed a t-shirt into her mouth and left her lying on the living room floor, covering her with a duvet.
Following this, he stated he sat with Jillu for an hour while he decided what to do next, before reaching the decision to kill himself and Louise.
He initially tried to fill the house with gas, but when he realised this wasn’t having the desired effect, he then took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Louise in the stomach. When describing this moment while giving evidence in court, he coldly said “I ended her life”. He claimed she was “undisturbed from her sleep” when this took place.
After again trying (and failing) to gas himself by placing a plastic bag over his head, he decided to lie down on the bed next to Louise and then after drinking half a bottle of brandy and using the same knife he had used to kill Louise – stabbed himself 22 times in the chest and stomach. His wounds were later found to superficial with no damage to any organs.
Nash had pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder and his defence rested on his belief that he ‘lawfully killed’ his wife and daughter. His attempts to justify this were through his interpretation of common law, property and marriage vows.
In a letter to his mother found during a search of the house, Peter Nash had written: “I have collected on the trespass made against me and have left with my property.”
He believed he ‘lawfully killed’ Louise as she was his ‘property’ and he did it to protect her because he did not trust anyone else to look after her, as she had complex care needs due to being non-verbal and diagnosed as autistic.
Peter Nash discharged his legal team before the trial began and opted to represent himself. The jury took just over two hours to deliver two guilty verdicts for murder by unanimous decisions.
