Wife 'lured husband to woods for drug-fuelled sex... then slit his throat so she could meet internet lover for first time'

By Luke Salkeld
Last updated at 10:46 PM on 13th October 2009

A poet lured her husband into woodland for a drug-fuelled sex session and then slit his throat, a court was told yesterday.

Joanne Hale, 39, left him for dead so she could see a man she had met on the internet, a jury heard.

Hale gave her 43-year-old husband Peter a dose of a natural aphrodisiac called 'horny goat weed' before she blindfolded him and led him into local woods to act out her fantasy, it was alleged.

The couple kissed and 'rolled about on the leaves' as part of a 'playful game'.
Then Hale sat astride her husband as he lay face- down on the ground and slit his throat with a knife, before plunging it into his neck and chest several times, a jury was told.

It is alleged that she abandoned his bleeding body when she was disturbed by a passer-by, and drove to a nearby railway station for her first meeting with a man she had befriended on the internet. But police arrested her when she returned home.

She denies attempted murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Hale publishes her poetry on the internet and, according to her website, likes to write verse about 'people, animals, love and everything that people care about'.

She worked part-time as a sales assistant for a DIY firm. Bristol Crown Court heard how the bizarre events unfolded last Christmas.

The couple, who married in February 2000, were watching television on December 27 when Mrs Hale suggested her husband take 'horny goat weed'.

Made using extracts from a leafy wild plant, the herbal drug is legal and is widely available to buy in capsule form.

It is used to treat erectile dysfunction and increase sexual desire.

Legend has it that its qualities were first noticed by a Chinese shepherd who observed an increase in promiscuous behaviour among his goats after they ate the plant.

The couple, who married in February 2000, were watching television on December 27 when Mrs Hale suggested her husband take 'horny goat weed'.

Made using extracts from a leafy wild plant, the herbal drug is legal and is widely available to buy in capsule form.

It is used to treat erectile dysfunction and increase sexual desire.

Legend has it that its qualities were first noticed by a Chinese shepherd who observed an increase in promiscuous behaviour among his goats after they ate the plant.

It is said to have been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

Mr Hale told the jury that he and his wife discussed how to prepare the drug - and that a mask used to relieve headaches was put over his face.

'Jo said it was quite unpalatable and I said I would like a drink with it,' he said.

At 6pm they left their home in Stapleton, Bristol, and walked to Stoke Park in the dark.

'I think, probably, a migraine cap was put on my head,' said Mr Hale.

'It was just a kind of sexual game. I enjoyed the game but I lifted it up because I wanted to see.'

He said he believed a sexual act was about to take place because it was his wife's fantasy which they had never acted out.

'We had a cuddle and a bit of rolling about in the leaves,' he said. 'I was happy at that point.'

He said his memory was 'hazy' from this point onwards but he remembered seeing his wife and a man before waking up in hospital.

The court heard that after slashing and stabbing her husband, Hale, was disturbed by a passing motorist.

Timothy Walker spotted two figures in his headlights - 'one on the ground, and one standing over'.

Hale is alleged to have fled the scene seconds later.

She is said to have then driven to Bristol Parkway railway-station where she had arranged to pick up postal worker Philip Sudol.

Hale allegedly told Mr Sudol, whom she was meeting in person for the first time, that she was separated, but that her husband had injured himself and she would get the blame.

Mr Hale had 'lifethreatening injuries' and was taken to hospital, the court was told.
The Hales were said to have been affected by stress after Mr Hale 'totally messed up' his PhD studies. He was also due to be made redundant. The trial continues.