A depressed man who killed his wife and tried to jump off the cliff has been arrested. Loughborough Magistrates’ Court heard Kaushik Solanki killed his wife Manisha in Leicester on 14 April 2021.
The court was told the marriage had been happy for 25 years but started getting worse in 2016 and became toxic due to the coronavirus pandemic for two years. The judge gave Solanki a sentence of 10 years.
Fifty-five-year-old Kaushik Solanki now uses a wheelchair and was initially charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on diminished responsibility. This happened because he suffered from a major depressive disorder when he killed his wife.
On Friday at Loughborough Magistrates’ Court, the couple’s two sons read the victim’s personal statements explaining how they supported their father after their mother’s death.
Twenty-three-year-old Nainesh described his parents as good, kind and caring people. The couple’s son said that during the lockdown and healthcare services started to close, my parents became trapped within their environment and couldn’t give each other a break, leading to a cycle of toxic behaviour.
Jaishiva, who is 26 and another child of the couple, works as a doctor, said his father had spent days in pain following his mother’s death, his mind torn apart as well as his body.
In addition, he said that he was a broken man mentally, and I’m proud of myself and my brother for bringing our father back.
In 1991 the court heard that the couple got married in India and lived in Leicester for most of their married life.
Gordon Aspden QC, prosecuting, explained how they were both devoted to raising their sons.
Forty-Nine-year-old Manisha Solanki also worked as a teaching assistant for students with special educational needs at Leicester College. Her husband worked as a driver for Leicester City Council, transporting vulnerable children to and from school.
