Daryl Berman was sentenced to life with a minimum of 12 years after a jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court convicted her of murdering her husband, David Berman. The court heard that she had told authorities he fell on a knife after stumbling into the kitchen.
Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court
The conviction ended a case involving the death of David Berman, 84, in the couple’s Greater Manchester home. Daryl Berman, 72, had been married to him for 27 years.
Police bodycam footage from the scene showed her asking, "Why am I so calm?" That recording became part of the evidence before the court, alongside the medical evidence about the wound.
Greater Manchester home
Daryl Berman told authorities that the chest wound was accidental and happened when David Berman stumbled into the kitchen and fell on a knife. Pathologists told the court that the injury was not an accident and was caused by an inflicted wound.
The jury accepted that evidence and convicted her of murder. The sentence leaves her with a minimum term of 12 years before any further consideration of release can take place.
For readers following the case, the court outcome settles the criminal question the jury was asked to answer: whether the injury was accidental or inflicted. The verdict and sentence place the medical evidence at the center of the case, not the explanation given by Daryl Berman after the killing.
