Briton admits accidentally killing his wife with a hammer in Dubai

A senior British journalist has “admitted to the police” in Dubai that he threw a hammer at his wife, a blow which led to her death.

Francis Matthew, editor-at-large of Gulf News, a broadsheet in the UAE, was arrested on 4 July after his wife was found dead in their Jumeirah home in the Gulf emirate.

At first Matthew said 62-year-old Jane had been attacked during a burglary at their home however he later admitted throwing a hammer at her during a row, adding that he did not intend to kill her, authorities said.

“The examination revealed that the wife…died from a strong blow on her head with a solid object. There was also a possibility that that the husband was involved in the crime,” the government said in a statement.

Matthew then “admitted to the police that he carried out the crime” and “also admitted to assaulting his wife by throwing a hammer at her but he said he did not mean to kill her”.

“The public prosecutor has charged the husband with premeditated murder in accordance with the federal penal code, and investigations continue in this case,” the government said.

The pair married in 1985 and have a son who is due to graduate from university in the UK this summer. They have lived in Dubai for over 30 years.

Abdul Hamid Ahmad, the editor-in-chief of the Gulf News, said the newspaper was “shocked and saddened at this tragedy”.

The Foreign Office said: “We are in contact with the UAE authorities following the detention of a British man. We are supporting the family of a British woman following her death in Dubai. We are in contact with the UAE police.”

A former Gulf News employee told MEMO: “I’m shocked! Francis Matthew was a lovely man, very personable and friendly and extremely gentle.”

“He was a big man, but definitely a gentle giant.”