A man who is charged with killing his estranged wife by hitting her with a 1.8kg sledgehammer had reportedly gone out drinking after the incident.
According to a court hearing, he said that Jacqueline deserved to die. On the first day of his trial, graphic images of her lifeless body were shown to the jury.
An X-ray revealed that Jacqueline suffered a fractured skull.
Chris Cook, the Crown prosecutor, said that the incident was likely motivated by her dispute with her husband over their child support.
Mr. Sturgess, who was in court for his arraignment, denied murder.
The Crown rejected his plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter. The court was told that the couple had separated in 2019 and Jacqueline moved out of their home in Narangba.
Mr Cook noted that the jury would hear evidence about Mr Sturgess’ history of violence against his wife.
One instance he tackled her after she claimed that he had put too much broccoli on their plate.
On April 28, 2020, Jacqueline went to the family home to collect their property, which included a desk and various jewelry.
According to Mr Cook, Mr Sturgess was enraged when he saw his wife dismantling the desk and hit her in the head with a 1.8kg sledgehammer. This caused her to suffer a severe skull fracture.
The prosecutor stated that Jacqueline died on the floor next to the desk. After the incident, Mr Sturgesess discarded the weapon and went to a nearby liquor store.
He then ordered two cases of Jack Daniels and a taxi to a friend’s home in Rocklea, where he stayed for the night.
According to Mr Cook, the taxi driver would be able to testify that Mr. Sturgess was heard saying that he was in trouble and that his life was ruined. The following day, he reportedly told his friend that he failed and that he killed his wife.
Before her death, Jacqueline had reportedly gone to a lawyer to talk about their property settlement options. Mr Cook noted that the couple had initially agreed on a 50-50 split of their assets. However, Mr Sturgess became angry after learning that his wife was discussing child support. The jury was also informed that they would hear a recording of his arrest made by the police.
According to the police, Mr Sturgeses admitted to hitting his wife with the sledgehammer. However, he denied that he wanted to kill her. In other statements, he reportedly called his wife a narcissist and said that she drove him to kill her.
One of his statements reportedly stated that Jacqueline was a c-t, and that she drove him to the incident. However, she didn’t deserve to be killed.