Husband dies after being freed from burning his wife alive with boiling fat at Chippy’s

Geoffrey Bran has been accused of killing his wife Mavis, who was burned alive by 160 degree oil at their village chip shop in Hermon, Wales, but her husband claimed she slipped

A husband acquitted of dumping a vat of boiling fat on his wife at their fish and chip shop has died less than three years after his acquittal.

Businessman Geoffrey Bran continued to serve customers after his wife Mavis was burned alive by the 160 degree oil at her Chipoteria takeaway in the village of Hermon, West Wales, his trial heard.

Ms Bran, 69, told a friend and a medic that her husband had deliberately thrown the bubbling hot fat over her after she told him he had burned four portions of cod.

But Mr Bran said his wife slipped on the greasy floor and knocked over the vat as she reached out to keep herself from falling.

She died in hospital six days after suffering 46 percent burns in the couple’s village of Chippy, near Carmarthen.

Mr Bran was acquitted of murder and manslaughter at his trial at Swansea Crown Court in November 2019.

He stunned the police by asking for the return of the deep fryer, an exhibit at the murder trial.

However, it has now emerged that Mr Bran has died peacefully at the age of 74 at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.

A family tribute said he was a “beloved husband to the late Mavis, devoted father to Richard, Rhiannon and Rhidian, much beloved grandfather, respected father-in-law, dear brother too”.

They added that he will be “sorryly missed by all his family and many friends.”

Mr. Bran’s funeral will be held on Friday.

The murder trial heard that Ms Bran frequently nagged her husband, who was “the quiet one” in the 34-year marriage, and the couple had always argued, swore and yelled at each other.

Mr Bran, then 71, sobbed in the dock as he recounted how he loved his wife and still missed her every day.

When asked why he didn’t tend to her injuries or call an ambulance, he said: “I was in a different world.

Christopher Clee, defending himself, told the jury: “If he had thrown it at her, where are the injuries you would expect him to have?

“Mavis Bran was the dominant who started the argument when she was drunk, the one who said horrible things about Geoff like ‘she wished he was dead’ or ‘she would fucking kill him’.

“This is an easygoing man of 71 years. You can consider some of the character references – unflappable, patient, stoic.”

Mr. Bran was in tears when the jury acquitted him of all charges, and he waved his thanks before exiting the court.

Swansea Crown Court heard Mr Bran had been accused of poking or throwing his wife with a deep fryer in the Chipoteria because she was “nagging” him.

But a jury found Bran not guilty of murder or manslaughter after a week-long trial.

The court previously heard Ms Bran yell “please help me” at a friend on the phone after scalding herself with the oil.

But Mr Bran, the hearing was told, continued to serve customers while his half-naked wife cried out for help.

The husband denied flinging the oil over his wife, explaining that she accidentally tipped the fryer over herself.

Mr. Bran and his wife had come out of retirement to open their sidewalk cafe.

The couple had been married for more than 30 years and had no children, although Mr Bran had three children from a previous relationship.

They owned around 10 businesses across South Wales, including Chipoteria, which opened in a cottage next to their home in the small village in January 2018.