A MAN who killed his wife at home while they were going through a divorce was on two types of anti-depressant medication at the time, a court has heard.

David Maggs, 71, has admitted killing his wife Linda, 74, at their home at Lansdowne, in Sebastopol, on February 6 last year.

However, he denies murder, pleading guilty instead to manslaughter by grounds of diminished responsibility, specifically that he was suffering from depression at the time.

Dr Nuwan Galappathie, a psychiatrist who interviewed Mr Maggs after his arrest, told Cardiff Crown Court that the defendant was on two different anti-depressant medications – Mirtazapine and Sertraline.

“To me this is unusual as most people are treated with just one medication,” said Dr Galappathie. “It suggests to me that his depression was difficult to treat.”

READ MORE: Psychiatrist 'not convinced' man accused of killing his wife was depressed.

When asked if his depression may have impaired Mr Maggs’ ability to think or control his actions, Dr Galappathie said: “This is a case where there are significant mental health problems, serious mental health problems, and a very clear account of what he was going to do. This is down to his depression.

“In my opinion this is a case of diminished responsibility.

“I think his depression would have clouded his judgement and impacted his problem solving skills and his ability to exercise self-control.

“It is unusual as he is telling people he is going to kill her. He is very open and frank about that. He is asking for help.”

However, prosecutor Michael Jones questioned this, referencing evidence given earlier in the trial by family friend Pamela Hester.

“What he said to her was he felt like stabbing her and he hated her. She said don’t think like that, Linda will be dead and you’ll be in prison. Think about David (his son) and Linda’s family.”

Dr Galappathie told the court that the defendant had told him he hadn’t slept in the four days leading up to when he stabbed his wife, and Sarah Jones, defending, said that Mr Maggs believed his wife was trying to poison him when he suffered food poisoning.

Mr Jones told the court that it wasn’t until January 31, 2020, that Mr Maggs was first prescribed anti-depressants.

He asked if Mr Maggs reporting that he had suffered with long-term depression following his arrest had to be “treated carefully”.

“Retrospective self-reporting after an event has to be taken very cautiously,” said Dr Galappathie.

Addressing Dr Galappathie on his conclusion that the defendant’s depression had affected his judgment and problem solving skills, Mr Jones said: “He was able to explain what he had done, why he had done it, why he was at the police station, and that he was legally represented. This isn’t a case where he was not able to explain why he killed her or why he took the knife upstairs.

“He was able to remember on the 999 call for example. He said ‘I’ve just killed the wife’. That shows good memory.

“He said to the police ‘I’ve had enough, she tried to steal two houses off me. Two houses’.

“On Friday, February 5 [Mr Maggs’ sister] had spent most of the day with him and they were looking for a document. When they were looking for it together, they then found it. He then began dictating a letter to her for the solicitors. Doing something like that requires a degree of concentration and focus and engagement.”

The trial continues before Judge Michael Fitton.