Grieving Andrew Salmon, 42, has revealed that he was suffering from depression when he bundled his wife into a shed after she allegedly mocked him over the death of his mother.
The mother of-two, 42, managed to escape through a window and let herself into their home in Truro, Cornwall.
Andrew told magistrates he merely locked his wife in the shed to "p*** her off" after she kept saying "ding dong, the witch is dead" at him.
Andrew explained: "She never really got on with my mum or any of my relatives and when my mum died she was horrible and offered me no support – she was extremely unsympathetic.
"I decided to lock her in the shed as I knew it would really annoy her and that she would be able to get out.
"I shouldn’t have done it and I am sorry but I was provoked into doing it and she gave as good as she got. The things she was saying about my mum were horrible."
After hearing that the postman grabbed his wife by the throat and attacked her after she escaped from the shed, the court handed him a community order for 24 months and fined £100, with £145 in costs.
The couple have since split.
Andrew added: "I'm sorry the argument ever happened."