A British woman killed her husband with a boiling, sticky solution: a few litres of simmering water mixed with three kilos of sugar. Mrs “Smith” wanted to punish her husband after hearing claims he had committed numerous child abuse offences. Her son, who was himself among the many victims, had told his mother before killing himself. She could not bear the loss of her son or the violation he had revealed. The “retribution” was inflicted while Mr Baines, more than twenty years her senior, was sleeping; after having dished out her own justice, the inconsolable spouse informed a neighbour, who called the police. The “horrified” officers discovered a man with around a third of his body literally “melted”. Mr Baines did not survive his injuries, but it took him almost a month to die; Mrs Smith will probably end her days in prison.
While we are talking about this British case of an unforgivable violation of innocence, it’s worth mentioning that we thought this “invention” was known only in the Horn of Africa, as a way of permanently marking unfaithful men… And there are men who would not risk straying into the sweet temptations of flirtation for anything in the world: even the world’s greatest delight is not worth such a penalty.
