Woman who murdered husband sentenced to life

A woman who killed her husband and hid his body in their garden has been jailed for life.

Maureen Rickards, 50, stabbed to death Jeremy Rickards, whom she was married to for 27 years.

The 65-year-old's remains were discovered at their home in St Martin's Road, Canterbury, Kent, by police on 11 July 2024, six days after he was reported missing by his daughter.

Rickards was given a life sentence at Canterbury Crown Court on Wednesday and will serve a minimum of 22 years in jail.

Rickards, who the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said had physically abused her husband over many years, was convicted on 13 March.

Kent Police said Mr Rickards had suffered five stab wounds to the chest, had recent injuries to his ribs and showed signs of having been strangled.

She had claimed her husband's injuries had been caused by a car accident, and told his daughter he had taken his own life.

The court heard Rickards recorded herself on her phone committing assaults on him, telling him at one point she would kill him.

The prosecution described the killing as a "ferocious attack".

The court heard she had initially hidden his body in a cupboard in her bedroom, before wrapping it in bin bags and moving it to the bottom of the garden.

Neighbours complained about a strange smell coming from the area.

The judge at Canterbury Crown Court, Mr Justice Kerr, said Rickards' behaviour towards her husband was "controlling and coercive".

"I am sure you intended his death and nothing less," he added.

"After the killing, you desecrated your husband's corpse. I do not know why you killed him."

Det Insp Colin McKeen from Kent Police said: "She has never expressed any remorse for what she did and has repeatedly sought to frustrate the investigation and push blame onto others, including the victim himself."

CPS prosecutor James Fisher said Mr Rickards had been the victim of an "abusive relationship", with "a pattern of historic abuse".

"He was a regular drinker in a local pub and they noted he would regularly appear with marks on his face," he said.

Philip Blunden, area lead on domestic abuse for the CPS, said it was a "misconception" that male victims were rare.

"One in three victims are male, but it is relatively rare to find female perpetrators, less than 10% of our prosecutions involve female perpetrators," he said.

"Domestic abuse is generally under reported, but there is a particular under-reporting of male victims of domestic abuse."

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