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Husband charged with wife's murder on island

Archie FarmerChannel Islands
News imageGuernsey Police A close-up photograph of a person with long dark hair wearing a light-coloured jacket. The background is plain and out of focus with blue-grey side borders. Guernsey Police
Hannah Benfield, 34, was found dead at the bottom of cliffs in Alderney

A man has been charged with the murder of his wife in Alderney, police have said.

The body of 34-year-old Hannah Benfield, nee Cox, was found in the sea at the base of cliffs in the west of the island on Monday.

Guernsey Police said Alderney resident Simon Benfield, 44, had been charged with her murder.

Benfield appeared at Guernsey Magistrates' Court and has been remanded in custody until his next appearance on 28 October.

It is the first murder investigation in Alderney in about 30 years, according to police.

The most northerly of the Channel Islands, Alderney has a population of about 2,000.

News imageA wide, open coastal path or headland is shown under a heavy grey, overcast sky, with scrubby bushes and rough grass on either side of a dirt track. Red and white tape marked "POLICE INNER CORDON - DO NOT CROSS" has been stretched across the path.
Her body was found in an area known as The Guns on Alderney's western coast

The force said Alderney had "a strong identity of its own" and the murder "will be felt particularly deeply across such a close-knit community".

"Police officers and specialist staff will therefore remain in Alderney over the coming days, both to continue investigative inquiries and to provide a visible policing presence and reassurance to residents," the force said in a statement.

"We would encourage anyone in Alderney who has information which they believe may assist the investigation, however insignificant it may appear, to speak directly with one of the officers on the island or contact Guernsey Police."

Hannah's family, which runs Alderney Farm Shop, said: "We just want to say the biggest thank you to everyone who has supported us over these last few days.

"It's been an unimaginably painful week and the kindness, messages, hugs, offers of help and simple acts of support from people across the island have meant more than we can say.

"Our incredible staff are much more than staff... they're our extended family. We're looking after each other, getting through this together and doing what we know Hannah would want us to do."

Andrew Eggleston, president of Alderney Chamber of Commerce, said the island had been "engulfed in a cloak of sadness" over the death.

"It has shaken every one of us, young and old along with the friends of Alderney who have holiday homes here or simply visit regularly," he said.

"The overall feeling and emotion in town on Monday was one that I have never felt before having lived here for more than half a century.

"The police along with other professional bodies must have had a terrible and emotional time piecing together this tragedy. Our thoughts are with them alongside the families involved."

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