Judith Ann Venn jailed: Read the chilling text grandmother sent before she killed Lance Hilton Venn by poisoning his vegetable soup, slitting his wrist and trying to take her own life

Hours before Judith Ann Venn murdered her husband by lacing his vegetable soup with prescription drugs, she had a glimmer of hope that his difficult behavior could be brought under control.

Lance Hilton Venn’s bipolar spectrum disorder and manic-depressive illness had significantly worsened over the course of 18 months, leaving him agitated and aggressive towards others.

Venn, his wife of 40 and the 64-year-old’s caretaker, couldn’t handle it.

The now 69-year-old had endured physical and emotional abuse, was chronically sleep deprived, increasingly isolated and increasingly desperate, a Brisbane court heard.

On August 12, 2020, Mr. Venn purchased a boat from a neighbor for $20,000, causing financial stress.

The next day, Venn dissolved 50 of her husband’s prescription pills in homemade vegetable soup and put them in containers in the freezer.

She was still hoping for some relief in her husband’s management on August 14, as he had an appointment with a psychologist that day.

But Venn canceled it when her husband ended up at their daughter’s house in the early hours of the morning during one of his nightly outings.

“I think if he hadn’t left … and he had gone to the psychologist, who he had seen before, there was still a glimmer of hope that maybe that would have changed things,” says a psychiatrist report.

Instead, to their daughter’s message that Mr. Venn had been outside her house since 4 a.m., Venn replied, “Okay, that’s it.”

On his return to their home in Alexandra Hills, southeast of Brisbane, Venn served him some of the soup.

She slit his wrist when he was unconscious, but his cause of death was found to be due to the overdose.

Venn wrote a letter saying she didn’t want her family to live with the stress she was experiencing and that Mr. Venn had pushed her over the edge.

Venn decided to end her husband’s life when he ended up at their daughter’s house in the early hours of the morning. Pictured is Venn’s family leaving the Supreme Court in Brisbane

She tried to take her own life and later told police she didn’t want anyone else, especially their daughters, to have to look after Mr. Venn.

Psychiatrists found that Venn suffered from major depressive disorder, excessive stress and thought disorders.

The court heard that Venn minimized and hid her husband’s physical aggression toward her, likely out of shame, loyalty to him, and a desire to spare her children any further trouble.

She also could not tolerate their adult daughters having to endure the struggles she had of caring for, supervising and managing her husband.

The worsening of Venn’s cognitive distortions, characterized by all-or-nothing catastrophic thinking, limited her ability to solve problems or make rational decisions, Brisbane High Court Judge Frances Williams said.

“It was in these circumstances that you were led to believe that the only solution to an intolerable and hopeless situation was for you and the deceased to die.”

Lance Hilton Venn’s bipolar spectrum disorder and manic-depressive illness had significantly worsened over 18 months, leaving him agitated and aggressive toward others

In sentencing, Judge Williams took into account that Venn posed no risk to the community and had been physically, verbally and emotionally abused.

“The specific circumstances of the crime arose from a tragic series of events, including the deceased’s mental illness that led to your own mental illness and that you made significant strides toward rehabilitation,” Judge Williams told Venn.

She said a statement from one of Venn’s daughters asked the court to consider the full context of the case when determining the appropriate sentence.

“It goes on to say that you devoted your life to being a loving wife, caring for the deceased while raising three daughters, and never putting your needs above others.

“It recognizes your generous and caring nature in every aspect of your life, illustrating a side of your character that conflicts with the events that have taken place.”

Justice Williams sentenced Venn to eight years and six months behind bars and ordered that she be immediately eligible to apply for parole.

Venn will have to make a successful application to the parole board to secure her release.

Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au

Judith Ann Venn killed her husband by lacing his soup with prescription medication, Brisbane High Court said (photo_ was told