A GERMAN court has overruled a verdict of manslaughter against a 50-year-old man after it was pointed out that the death of his wife could be attributed to a heavyweight Labrador that also lived with the couple.

The man was convicted in Dusseldorf in November 2010 of causing the death of his wife by strangulation, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper has reported.

But the conviction was turned-over by a court which argued that the fact the woman was strangled for several minutes did not necessarily equate to her being killed intentionally.

It was claimed the deceased had fallen over in the bathroom after earlier drinking heavily and her husband had been unable to lift her. He had it is claimed given her a pillow and blanket and gone to bed only to find her dead the following afternoon.

But the defendant’s lawyer says the 35-kilo Labrador. He added that is is well-known that they sometimes kill their own puppies this way by accident.

However, Hans-Hermann Sangen, an expert from the Labrador club in nearby Velbert, said it was unfair to make the dog the scapegoat.

He explained adults could not be put in danger by one of the dogs. He said newborns could be accidentally smothered by one of the animals if they snuggled up to them, but that was not the case with adults.

The hearing continues.