Newmarket man Olubunmi Abodunde admits murdering wife and is due to be sentenced in May

A Newmarket man beat his wife to death with one of her children’s skateboards, the day after he had been arrested and banned from the family home, a court had heard.

Olubunmi Abodunde, 48, a civil engineer, admitted murdering nurse Taiwo Abodunde, 41, at their Exning Road home on November 28 last year when he appeared at Ipswich Crown Court today.

Prosecuting, Stephen Spence said that Abodunde was a jealous man who had accused his wife of having affairs throughout their marriage.

There were also disputes over bills and money, with frequent arguments and violence from both parties, he told the court.

On November 27, Abodunde was arrested after a dispute and bailed. He was banned from returning to the family home or contacting his wife but the next day he returned shortly before Mrs Abodunde finished work and killed her between 9.12am and 9.20am.

“A pathologist identified three areas of injury,” said Mr Spence. “One was to the throat which suggested [Abodunde] firstly throttled his wife, but there were no offensive injuries. She was rendered unconscious.

“Secondly, she had broken ribs with internal haemorrhaging likely from being stamped on. The most significant was damage to head, with her skull smashed in.

In mitigation for Abodunde, Nneka Akudolu said the level of violence was completely out of character for her client and she disputed that Abodunde had been lying in wait for his wife.

She said he had been confused by the terms of his bail when released on November 27.

She said he thought he was not permitted to return home while his wife was there.

Miss Akudolu also said medication her client was on negatively impacted his behaviour.

The court heard Mrs Abodunde, who came to the UK from Nigeria in 2022, had worked in Cambridge while her husband, who had joined her later with their three children, had worked in Tesco and Wickes.

Detective Inspector Dan Connick said: “This was an awful attack on a woman that has had a lasting impact on the community and most importantly on the victim’s family.

“We are pleased that Taiwo’s family will no longer have to go through the pain of a trial.

“Our thoughts remain with Taiwo’s family and friends and hope this result will bring some small comfort to them.”

The jury returned a guilty verdict.

Abodunde will be sentenced on May 9.