Susan Mouat's appeal against sentence for pushing husband to his death denied

Susan Mouat, who admitted manslaughter after pushing her husband to his death, has had her appeal against her sentence dismissed.

The Taranaki woman was sentenced to 11 months home detention in October, after pleading guilty on the first day of her trial in September to killing her husband Bruce Mouat.

Bruce Mouat died in hospital after falling down the steps of his Hawera home in July 2011 and hitting his head.

In a judgment issued today, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal to have the sentence reduced to community detention.

The judges noted that whilst Mouat's level of culpability was at the very low end of the scale for manslaughter, her home detention sentence was also at the low end of the scale.

Mouat initially claimed her husband had come home drunk and fallen of his own accord after the pair had an argument.

A police investigation was closed without charges being laid, and a coroner ruled the fall was accidental.

But Mouat later admitted to police she had pushed her husband, and she was charged with manslaughter.