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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

'Kill me, please kill me, I don't deserve to live'. Musician who murdered his wife, an internationally reknowned concert pianist, told officers arresting him he wanted to die


Photo: PA

John Martin, 48, was jailed for life on Monday after murdering his wife Natalia Strelchenko, 38, on their second wedding anniversary last August



The Norwegian bass player strangled and beat Ms Strelchenko to death after flying into a 'jealous rage'.
The video, which was captured on an officer's body camera, shows him wailing uncontrollably as police attempt to calm him down.
One officer is heard saying: 'You're under arrest for assault, at the moment. Do you understand?'
Martin responds: 'Kill me, please, kill me.'
An officer says: 'Nobody's going to kill you.'
The killer then continues to cry, telling police: 'I don't deserve to live.'
Martin had denied murder and manslaughter, claiming he could not remember what happened. 
The Norwegian bass player (left) strangled and beat Ms Strelchenko to death at their home in Manchester after flying into a ‘jealous rage’ 
The Norwegian bass player (left) strangled and beat Ms Strelchenko to death at their home in Manchester after flying into a 'jealous rage' 



Martin repeatedly shouted ‘kill me, please, kill me’ as he lied face down on his bed at home during the arrest
Martin repeatedly shouted 'kill me, please, kill me' as he lied face down on his bed at home during the arrest
He said his behaviour was caused by a combination of severe depression, drink and tranquilisers.
A judge ruled that he must serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars. 
Russian mother-of-one Strelchenko, who was also known by the surname Strelle, was a professional classical musician of international renown.
She was found with some 71 injuries, including 45 separate marks to her head and neck, having suffered repeated blows to the front of her face.
Her jawbone was snapped in half and parts of her skull were left severely fractured. 



Ms Strelchenko began playing piano at the age of eight
Ms Strelchenko began playing piano at the age of eight and went on to gain entry to the prestigious St Petersburg State Conservatory
Ms Strelchenko, who at the 'peak of her powers' had performed in concerts with a full orchestra and attended the prestigious St Petersburg State Conservatory in her homeland, died a short time later in hospital.
Hours before the attack, Martin, a double-bass player, had 'exploded' in front of a group of musicians in a row with Ms Strelchenko about barbecue food.
The three-times married man left the house after drinking around four cans of cider, returning home at around midnight.
Martin had claimed that he had no memory of pushing his wife, falling down the stairs or of the struggle, after taking a mix of alcohol and diazepam - which he said he had mistaken for his anti-depressant medication.
But Mrs Justice Cox said that Martin had intended to kill the pianist in what she described as a 'prolonged and ferocious attack'.
She said: 'On all the evidence I have heard I am satisfied that this attack occurred against a background of controlling and sometimes aggressive behaviour by you.



'But the evidence shows that you came to resent her success and her friendships with those she met. 
'I am satisfied on the evidence that you were jealous of her being the focus of attention and praise and of her meeting other people when she was working away from home.
'You were, as witnesses have described, unable to live with her and unable to live without her and I have no doubt that you would not allow her to be free.'
Before sentencing, the court heard that Martin had been convicted at Oslo District Court in 2012 for four offences relating to assaults against Ms Strelchenko for which he was sentenced to a prison term of 90 days. 

THE 'MUCH LOVED' PIANIST WHO WILL 'NEVER BE FORGOTTEN' 

'We will never forget Natalia or the many memories she has given us', her family said
Photo: PA
'We will never forget Natalia or the many memories she has given us', her family said
The family of Natalia Strelchenko said that the musician had been 'much loved' adding, 'we will never forget Natalia or the many memories she has given us.'
Playing the piano from the age of eight, talented Ms Strelchenko went on to gain entry to the prestigious St Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia.
The renowned solo pianist of international calibre was to make her debut at the age of 12 with the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra.
She had performed at New York's Carnegie Hall and London's Wigmore Hall, winning praise from the classical music press.



In a statement, her family said: 'She was extremely talented with much life ahead of her. She was taken from us in August in completely unnecessary circumstances. We cannot express how devastated we are that her life has been stolen from her.'
Ms Strelchenko had also been artist in residence at Leeds College of Art and a research fellow at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.
She had moved to Manchester in 2009 following the breakdown of her first marriage three years earlier, before she began a relationship with John Martin who had trained at the Oslo Conservatoire.
They played together in an orchestra and Martin was still married to his second wife when he began the relationship with divorcee Ms Strelchenko.
The statement added: 'We miss Natalia every minute of every day. We can try to repair our heartache although no matter how long the sentence is, it will not bring Natalia back or make our loss any easier.'




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Courtesy: mail

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