Martin Suter, 68, has been given a life sentence with a minimum term of more than 27 years after fatally stabbing his 71‑year‑old ex‑wife, Ann Blackwood, in a premeditated attack at Crofton Cemetery in Stubbington, Hampshire, on 24 July 2023, the day that would have marked their son Christopher’s 36th birthday.

An avid sailor, Suter waited in the cemetery for five hours before attacking Blackwood as she arrived by bicycle. Prosecutors told Portsmouth Crown Court that he had armed himself with a large kitchen knife taken from his home, anticipating she would visit their son’s grave.

When Blackwood approached the grave, Suter struck her from behind with the knife. The blade broke off after the first blow, so he used a pair of scissors, which she had brought to cut the flowers she planned to lay on the grave, to stab her repeatedly in her neck and shoulder. She was stabbed a total of 19 times.

At 3.39pm that afternoon, Suter rang 999 from the graveside, calmly telling the operator:

“I have just murdered someone, I have just killed my ex‑wife, I have just stabbed her to death.”

During sentencing, Judge Michael Bowes KC said:

“No sentence I can pass can compensate Ann Blackwood’s family and friends for their devastating loss.”

He also addressed Suter directly, noting that although the death of their son had been “a tragic loss,” it did not reduce his culpability for murdering her. The judge condemned the killing as “an act of wickedness.”

In a victim impact statement read in court, Blackwood’s brother, John Blackwood, described her as “an affable, inoffensive person, easy-going, gregarious, with many friends.” He added:

“The fact that such wickedness can exist and be perpetrated by one human being on another is alien to us and totally beyond our comprehension.”

Prosecuting barrister Robert O’Sullivan KC told the court there had been a “significant degree of planning.” He said:

“The defendant armed himself with a large kitchen knife, and he took it with him to the cemetery that morning while he lay in wait, anticipating she would visit her son’s grave that day.”

Suter had been diagnosed with autism and depression, the court was told. His defence, led by Jodie Mittell KC, argued that due to his autism diagnosis it may have been difficult for him to express remorse in a way others would recognise.

Suter was sentenced to 27 years and 109 days for the murder, plus an additional 121 days for a separate conviction of indecent assault of a girl under 14.