Man who persuaded wife to take her own life to claim insurance payout jailed for 10 years in landmark case

Queensland judge says husband wanted to get his hands on £770,000 life insurance plan

Graham Morant reportedly wanted to spend the insurance money from his wife’s death on building a Christian commune (AP)

An Australian man who wanted to claim his wife’s life insurance has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for persuading her to kill herself.

Graham Morant, 69, was sentenced on Friday after he was convicted by a Queensland jury of both “counselling” and “aiding” his wife’s 2014 suicide.

The judge said he believed it was the first ruling of its kind anywhere in the world.

Justice Peter Davis rejected Morant’s claim that he had acted through compassion for his 56-year-old spouse, Jennifer.

Mr Davis decided the motivation was to collect 1.4 million Australian dollars (about £770,000) from three life insurance policies.

Morant’s wife had been suffering from chronic back pain and depression, but was not terminally ill when she died by suicide four years ago.

Prosecutors told the court that the devout Christian had wanted to spend the insurance money from his wife’s death on building a religious commune on the Gold Coast.

“Mrs Morant was a vulnerable person with difficulties with her physical health,” said Mr Davis.

“You took advantage of those vulnerabilities in order to persuade her to kill herself and then assisted her to do so once she had made that decision.”

A jury found that Ms Morant would not have died without the encouragement of her husband.

Although several people have been convicted of helping someone die by suicide, the judge said no one has ever been convicted of persuading someone to take their own life who would not otherwise have done so.

Judy Dent, one of Ms Morant’s closest friends, told reporters outside the court the verdict had been “upsetting”.

She said: “I don’t think there are any winners in this situation and it’s been a long four years.

“She was very bubbly, very full-on, very engaging. She made friends everywhere she went and she was just a wonderful person.”

Additional reporting by agencies