For 25 years Raymond Page and his partner enjoyed happy loving relationship with hardly a cross word between them.

But when in his 60s Raymond was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, he changed, a court heard today (Thursday).

He suffered depression, was fearful about the future with the woman he loved and was in a constant pain.

Then one morning last July, neighbours heard his partner Natividad Nituan, known to all as Natalie, suddenly scream out from the couple’s one bedroomed maisonette in Orchard Close, Radlett.

St Albans crown court was told that Page had carried out a “frenzied” knife attack on the woman, who had devoted her life to caring for him.

The 64-year-old Page was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to a charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Judge Andrew Bright QC told Page: “It was clear to all who knew you that you loved each other very much, but in 2015 your lives were dramatically changed when you were diagnosed with prostate cancer.”

The judge said his partner had “dedicated” herself to making his life as comfortable as she could.

He went on: “You struggled to cope with the pain and weight-loss from which you were suffered and you began to develop symptoms of depression and anxiety. She continued to love and care for you, but confided in her sister that you wanted to kill yourself because you were tired of being in pain.”

The judge said Page’s temperament and demeanour had changed and he went on “In the weeks leading up to the killing you were feeling depressed and hopeless, your appetite and sleep were disturbed and you felt convinced that Natividad was going to leave you.”

The judge said on waking up on the morning of July 25 last year he had decided to kill her “because you believed quite wrongly that she was about to leave you and this made you angry.

“You then took a knife and embarked on what can only be described as a frenzied and sustained attack on your partner of 25 years.”

Prosecutor Peter Shaw told the jury Page and Filipino Natalie, who was 70 when she died, had been in a 25 year relationship, although they had never married.

“Family members say that the couple loved each other very much and they were very seldom seen or heard to argue.

“About two years ago Mr Page had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He refused chemotherapy and tried to cure himself with diet and exercise,” he said.

The court heard that before the killing Page had lost a lot of weight and had been put “under palliative care.”

A family statement was read to the court in which Natalie’s sister Teresita Nituan said “She put her life on hold to care for Raymond. After a while his attitude started to change. She was sometimes overwhelmed by his demeanour because he would say hateful things to make her feel bad.

“My sister stayed with Raymond because she loved and cared for him even though his temperament had changed. She still loved him; she wouldn’t leave him.”

The sister said Natalie had told her how Page had wanted to kill himself because he was “tired of being in pain.”

Mr Shaw said just before 7am on the morning of July 25 last year a neighbour heard Natalie scream out from inside the maisonette.

Page was heard to say “You shouldn’t tell me what to do.”

Not long afterwards he phoned his sister and told her had killed his partner, telling her it was like the “devil come in me.”

Then, in a 999 call to the police, Page - clearly distressed - told the operator he had killed Natalie.

“He kept repeating to police how he hated himself and how he was evil and had done something evil to the sweetest person in my world,” said Mr Shaw.

However, it was eventually concluded by the mental health experts who examined him that at the time of the killing he had been suffering from a depressive episode of at least moderate severity which had existed for some time prior to the offence.

It would have had a “significant effect on his behaviour and functioning,” said the prosecutor.

As a result, Page eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility which was accepted by the prosecution.

The court was told that since his arrest, Page has made three suicide attempts.

However it was now the opinion of his treating psychiatrist at the secure hospital unit where he has been held that Page no longer had a mental disorder that requires treatment.

But the court heard there is still a “chronic risk” that Page may try to commit suicide because of the guilt he feels over Natalie’s death.

For that reason it was now felt it would be beneficial for him to be held in a prison with psychological input to help him address his guilt.

Mr Philip Evans QC, defending, said the couple had enjoyed a loving relationship until the “diagnosis of terminal cancer” and what happened last July had been “entirely out of character.”

He said the defendant had been given between “two to five years” depending on what treatment he takes.

“He is not a well man - it is terminal,” he said.