September 17, 2008	Wednesday	Ramazan 16, 1429

MELBOURNE, Sept 16: An Australian husband strangled his nagging wife after she upset his beloved pet dog as he tried to rock it to sleep, a prosecutor told a local court.

Anthony Sherna, 42, then left his dead wife’s body on her bed for a few days, but not wanting his dog traumatised by the sight of a decomposing body, he took the Jack Russell to a pet resort.

Sherna pleaded not guilty on Monday in Melbourne’s Magistrates Court to murdering his wife, local media reported on Tuesday.

The prosecutor told the court that Sherna and his wife lived in isolation at rural Victoria state, with no friends, no social life and just their Jack Russell Maltese terrier cross, Hubble, for company, the Herald Sun reported.

Each night, Sherna rocked Hubble to sleep in his arms while listening to the radio, but one night in February his wife began shouting at him as he cuddled the dog. Sherna snapped.

Sherna put his dog to bed, grabbed a dressing gown cord and strangled his wife, said the prosecutor.—Reuters