Husband jailed for rubber glove murder bid

Charles Henson, 39, put his gloved fingers inside Allison Phelps's mouth
13 April 2012

An estranged husband found guilty of attempting to murder his latex-allergic wife with a surgical glove was given an indeterminate prison sentence today.

Former soldier Charles Henson, 39, put his gloved fingers inside Allison Phelps's mouth during an attack at her home in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, in March this year.

American Henson also tried to poison Ms Phelps, 40, and her new partner, Michael Phelps, whose surname she adopted, by turning on the gas hobs and oven at their home in Coalway, near Coleford.

He was found guilty at Bristol Crown Court in October of attempted murder, attempting to administer a poison or noxious substance and wounding Mr Phelps.

The trial judge, Mr Justice Royce, sitting at the High Court in London, said today that he had concluded that Henson was a "dangerous offender" and there "must be a sentence of imprisonment for public protection - that is an indeterminate sentence".

But he said he also had to indicate what the "determinate" part of the sentence should be for the purposes of consideration of his case by the Parole Board.

He ruled that for the attempted murder the "determinate" term should be one of 12 years.

The judge told bespectacled and bearded Henson, who was in the dock for sentencing, that this meant he would not be considered for release by the Parole Board until he had served half that period - but warned that as an indeterminate sentence had been imposed "you may never be released".

Mr Justice Royce said of the attack on Ms Phelps: "I consider that this was a callous and calculated offence, the product of a warped mind."

He also recommended Henson's deportation back to the US following his eventual release.

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