A man who slit his wife’s throat "in an act of love" as part of a failed suicide pact has been found not guilty of murder.

Graham Mansfield, 73, from Hale, Manchester, was given a suspended sentence of two years after he was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter at Manchester crown court.

The jury cleared him of the charge after Mansfield gave an emotional testimony of how he had killed his wife, Dyanne, 71, because she was suffering from terminal cancer.

The retired baggage handler told the Crown Court that he killed her after she asked him to take her life "when things get bad for me". He said that her words were "the saddest words I had ever heard" but only agreed on "one condition" that he took his own life too.

Watch Mansfield speak outside of court:

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On March 23, the husband called 999 at 9:00PM and informed the operator he had killed his wife. The police then arrived at the couple's home to the "extraordinary scene" of Dyanne found in a pool of blood.

According to the Guardian, Mansfield thanked the police officers who arrested him outside of court, saying: "They have been so lovely and kind. They are nice people and they treated me like a human being."

He then urged for a change in the law on euthanasia, saying: "I’d just like to say, the law needs to change. Nobody should have to go through what we went through."

"Unfortunately, today, my wife is not here. She shouldn’t have had to die in such barbaric circumstances. That was what we had to resort to," he said, adding that his wife would be "fuming" if she saw him with a criminal record for carrying out her wish to die.

Mansfield's solicitor, Rachel Fletcher also said: "We’re very happy that the jury acquitted Mr. Mansfield of murder but under the current system of law as the jury [was] told, he had no [defense] to manslaughter."

"This is a shocking state of affairs in what is supposed to be a civilized country and the sooner the law changes, the better," Fletcher added.

[[imagecaption|| Graham Mansfield spoke to the media outside Manchester Crown Court after being handed a suspended jail sentence. Credit: PA Images / Alamy]]

A medical report documented that Dyanne’s post-mortem discovered she probably had between one and four weeks to live when she died. She had bladder cancer that spread to her lungs and lymph nodes and had recently stopped chemotherapy.

The pair had been married for 40 years and had "the perfect relationship and wanted to remain together for the rest of their lives", the court was told.

The court heard that several notes were found at the scene. One note read "we have decided to take our own lives," and gave instructions on where to find Mansfield's house keys and how to contact his sister.

Another note to their family was left on the dining room table, and it read: "We are sorry to burden you with this but there is no other way. We made a pact that when it got too bad for Dyanne we would end it."

"I couldn’t bear to live without Dyanne and as the months progressed and as things got worse, it only reinforced our decision that the time has arrived. We hope you all understand. Don’t get too upset. We have had a wonderful and happy life together," it said.

However, the court was told that neither note was signed by Dyanne. The judge that cleared Mansfield said in court: "Your evidence, which I accept, is that every sinew in your body didn’t want to kill your wife."

"It was what she had asked you to do. It was an act of love and compassion to end her suffering," he concluded.

Featured image credit: PA Images / Alamy

Man who cut wife's throat in 'suicide pact' is cleared of murder, judge says he 'acted out of love'