RUNCORN MAN JAILED FOR LIFE IN BRUTAL WIFE MURDER
A man has been jailed for life for murdering his wife of five months and hiding her body in their garage.Michael Roberts, from Runcorn, denied murder, telling Liverpool Crown Court he had accidentally strangled Vicky, 25, during sex.
The 26-year-old, who was having affairs with two other women, ran off when police found the body and later went shopping with one of his lovers.
He has been sentenced to a minimum of 17 years.
Mr Justice Royce told him: "Vicky Roberts was a talented, vibrant, caring, lively and loving daughter.
"I read in the victim impact statements that her laugh was infectious and she lightened every room she entered.
"You cheated on her and deceived her during your relationship, before you married and throughout your short marriage.
"She deserved much better than you." Throughout the three-week trial, Roberts claimed that he throttled his wife with her dressing gown cord because she told him to pull it tighter during a sex game.
However, marks discovered on her neck indicated that Roberts had used a different ligature to kill her.
The jury took less than four hours to reach a unanimous guilty verdict.
After strangling his wife, Roberts wrapped her in sheets, cardboard, and duct tape and hid her in the garage next to their flat in Partington Square.
He then sent multiple text messages from Mrs Roberts' phone to her friends to cover his tracks, claiming she had left him for another man.
At one point, Roberts called his mother-in-law to ask what his wife wanted for Christmas, a call Mr Justice Royce described as "defying belief" and "hugely aggravated the killing." Mrs Roberts' father eventually contacted the police, concerned about his daughter.
When officers searched the couple's home on December 3rd and found her body, Roberts fled on foot.
He was finally arrested three days later in Wrexham, North Wales.
On the run, he contemplated killing himself in a Chester hotel room but could not go through with it and sent a loving message to his lover Karen Wilson, 26.
Detective Inspector Jo Miller characterized Roberts as someone who led a double life, deceitful and arrogant, unable to accept his failings.
The court was told that Vicky was "brimming over with happiness" on her wedding day, but Roberts' infidelity and inability to accept ending his other relationships led to her tragic death.
