Retrial date set in Jewish wife murder case after hung jury
Daryl Berman to face fresh murder trial in June after jury failed to reach verdict last year
A retrial has been scheduled for Daryl Berman, the Jewish woman accused of murdering her husband, following the collapse of her original trial due to a deadlocked jury.
The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that proceedings will begin at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on 22 June and are expected to run until 3 July. Berman, 71, will again face a single charge of murder and remains on bail.
Her first trial ended in December after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict over the death of her husband, David Berman, 84, at their home in Prestwich.
During that hearing, the court was told Mr Berman died from a single stab wound in March last year. His wife denied murder throughout, maintaining his death was a “tragic accident”.
Jurors heard that the incident was initially treated as accidental before a senior pathologist later raised concerns about the nature of the injury.
The prosecution also pointed to a wound on Mr Berman’s finger that could have been sustained while attempting to defend himself, while acknowledging there was no known history of violence in the couple’s long marriage.
Giving evidence, Berman denied any involvement in her husband’s death and described discovering him injured in the kitchen after hearing what she believed was a fall.
Following more than seven hours of deliberations, the jury was discharged after failing to agree on a verdict.
The case will now return to court this summer, where a new jury will be asked to consider the charge.
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