My partner is in a very bad mood tonight. I guess if he strangles me in my sleep, his mood is something only I know about, so his 'intent' would be in his own mind. Manslaughter?
Hypothetically, we could say: your husband is in a bad mood tonight, he is in serious debt, he doesn't have any ready source of finances (cause he's tried that!); his lover pressured him to leave you; he promised his lover that he would be free by July 1st.
He was humiliated in public this evening when his card was declined at the supermarket. This humiliation was the last straw! His financial situation came screaming loudly in his head.
It was critical. Earlier his lover pressured him to leave you. He does not love you. He could co-parent the children with his lover anyway. You own a house, have superannuation and Insurance which he could claim upon your death. This would solve some financial issues. It's easier that way you see!
The children are asleep after a busy day at school sports. You settle on the couch to watch TV. He takes the opportunity. He comes up behind you, puts his hand over your mouth, puts his knee on your chest and suffocates you.
You struggle and reach up, scratching his face to get him to realise what he is doing. He continues relentless. You dig your nails in deeply, but can no longer breathe and lose energy. He suffocates you until you lose consciousness and stop breathing.
He opens the patio doors and drags you out feet first across the patio. The little dog at the back property barks incessantly. He dumps you in the car, then speeds off driving 14k to a bridge near a river. He discards you by tossing you down the steep embankment hoping you land in the water and float away or get eaten by sharks in the Brisbane river.
Dead or dying, you are left for dead in the darkness of night.
He spends the rest of the night manipulating the scene at home, cleaning, making beds and getting rid of any evidence. He can count on his family's help because they seriously never liked you anyway. It's business as usual.
For 10 days, your corpse lay rotting away by the edge of the river removing evidence of the cause of your death. For 10 days he lies to the police and denys knowing anything about your disappearance, but he knows exactly where you are because he put you there. He hopes you are washed away and all evidence of the cause of your death is washed away too; but he knows that the longer you are not found, the more decayed your body will be and most likely the cause of your death will be unable to be determined.
He goes about 'business as usual' and does not help in the search for you.
On the day your remains are located, he and his father immediately lodge forms to claim
Insurance for your death. Then just as he had hoped for, the Coroner is unable to determine an exact cause of death due to decay...
Possumheart, that husband of yours sure is calculating! You see, only
he and you know what happened - except for those scratches on his face. Others might speculate on those. For sure.