Abroad
Veteran Member
A "controlling and manipulative" man who killed his wealthy lover to fund a lavish lifestyle will serve a minimum of 32 years in jail, a judge has said.
Donald Graham, 60, was convicted of murdering Janet Brown, of Hexham, Northumberland in 2005, before stripping her estate.
A judge at Newcastle Crown Court jailed Graham for life, adding he would not be eligible for parole for 32 years.
The body of Ms Brown, a property developer, has never been found.
Graham, of Sparty Lea, Northumberland, had denied murder but admitted fraud.
Ms Brown's body has never been found, despite an extensive search of farmland close to Graham's home.
Sentencing, Judge Justice Openshaw said: "He was once a JCB digger driver, he could have disposed of her in some deeply-dug pit or put her down one of the many mine shafts in the area, or buried her in some wild and remote place.
"That he disposed of her body is obviously an aggravating factor."
He added that the fact that the murder was driven by financial gain was another aggravating factor.
"All these offences were made possible only by the murder and he used the money to fund his extravagant and flashy lifestyle", he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-27938586