Family saw ‘changes’ in Phillip Dafter in months leading up to killing wife in Northampton home, trial hears

A court has heard that a man accused of murdering his wife inside their Northampton home was depressed and “irritable” in the months leading up to the killing.

Phillip Dafter continued to be questioned at Northampton Crown Court on Thursday, April 20 after the body of his wife, 36-year-old Diana Dafter, was discovered at their top-floor flat in Lawrence Court on October 7, 2022.

He denies murder but admits manslaughter, arguing loss of control and diminished responsibility.

The court heard that, when a mental health assessment was carried out on October 13, 2022 - two days after Dafter’s arrest - he told a doctor that he had been experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety, which worsened over the previous three months.

Dafter told jurors that - prior to killing his wife - he had fleeting thoughts of self harming, low confidence, low self-esteem and he had previously made an attempt on his life.

He, however, told the doctor on October 13, 2022 that there had been no changes in his sleep pattern, concentration, appetite or sex drive and said he had no difficulties in taking pleasure from life, the court heard.

When asked why he told the doctor this, Dafter replied: “I just wanted to get out of there and go to prison. I just gave him the easiest answers I could.”

The court heard that Dafter had told his general practitioner that he had a “short fuse.” When asked what this meant, Dafter said things just got to him.

When Gordon Aspden, prosecuting, asked Dafter if he got angry at the time he killed his wife, the defendant said he did when Mrs Dafter tried to stop him from stabbing himself.

Psychiatrist, Dr Puri, initially diagnosed Dafter with adjustment disorder after meeting the defendant in November 2022 and said that the partial defence of diminished responsibility would not be open to him, the court heard.

Dr Puri, however, changed his diagnosis months later in 2023 to recurrent depressive disorders and said that the defendant would be able to argue diminished responsibility because his rational judgement and ability to exercise self control would have been severely impaired at the time of the killing. He believes that Dafter’s ability to understand the nature of his conduct would not have been affected.

When questioned about why Dr Puri changed his diagnosis, the psychiatrist said: “There was a very clear history of a man, who had been struggling with symptoms of severe depression. In the weeks leading up to the offence, it was very clear that he was not functioning as I previously thought he was.”

The expert witness added that he believes the depressive disorders had been ongoing for years and had not arisen from the events on October 7, 2022.

Christopher Bray, who served in the army with Dafter and has known him since 2015, gave a statement saying: “I am absolutely shocked at the allegations. Never in a million years did I think he would be involved in something like this.”

He went on to say that Dafter killing his wife is “completely out of character” and he had never witnessed the defendant to be violent or aggressive in any way.

He described Dafter as a “placid” and “grounded” individual, who was “approachable” and “easy to talk to.”

He, however, said he saw a change in Dafter following the passing of his mother. He said Dafter resigned from the army and - during his year’s notice period - appeared unmotivated, became withdrawn and quiet and stopped socialising after work.

The former colleague, who had visited Dafter’s Northampton home, described Mrs Dafter as a “nice woman” and said there was no cause for concern.

Dafter’s father, who lives in Malawi, said in a statement that his son was very close with his mother and, after her death, Dafter would often be “quiet” and “low” and would sometimes remain completely silent on the phone or end the call.

He said that Diana Dafter phoned him in December 2021 to say: “Phillip has changed and is not himself anymore.”

Dafter’s younger brother described the defendant as: “Someone who cared and loved everybody. He was always there for us if we ever needed him and gave us comfort when things went wrong.”

He said, in his statement, that he became aware that the defendant was struggling with depression in January 2022 and he was becoming increasingly argumentative and irritable.

The court heard that, the night before Dafter killed his wife, he called his brother from his car in an emotional state and said he wanted to leave.

The morning of the fatal stabbing, Dafter’s brother said he received a text from him saying he wanted a divorce from his wife and he spoke about “being abused” and wanting to be “free.”

“If I don’t see you brother, I will see you in heaven,” Dafter told his brother.

Dafter’s brother said he told him to “stay strong” and not to do anything stupid, thinking Dafter would harm himself.

“The last thing on my mind was that he would hurt Diana,” he said.

The trial continues.