A retired pig farmer has been sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison for the murder of his wife in 1982.

Last week David Venables, 89, was found guilty of the 1982 murder of his wife, whose body was found in a septic tank at their home 37 years later.

He had tried to blame serial killer Fred West for Brenda Venables’s murder and during the month-long trial, his lawyers said West had links to the Worcestershire village of Kempsey, where Mrs Venables disappeared in May 1982.

They also claimed that Mrs Venables may have left her marital home at Quaking House Farm and “either killed herself or met with or encountered someone who wished her harm”.

However, the jury at Worcester Crown Court decided Venables had murdered her on either 3 or 4 May 1982.

Her skull and bones were found during work to empty the underground septic tank on 12 July 2019, six years after Venables had sold the property for more than £460,000.

Michael Burrows QC, for the prosecution, said during the trial that Venables had “got away with murder” for almost 40 years and that he had “wanted to resume his long-standing affair with another woman, Lorraine Styles”.

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The affair with Ms Styles started around 1967, and continued on and off, the court was told.

By 1981, Ms Styles had “doubts again about David Venables’ feelings for her”, but he rekindled the extramarital affair over that Christmas and new year, months before his wife vanished, Mr Burrows said.

Venables said he woke up on the morning of 4 May 1982 to find his wife, then aged 48, had disappeared.

He said he searched surrounding lanes and a stretch of the nearby River Severn of her.

After the murder, the court was told, Venables appeared calm to those who knew him.

He later sought an annulment of his marriage to Mrs Venables, who was described by relatives and friends in court as a kind, hospitable and friendly woman.

The pensioner informed police after his arrest in 2019 that he believed West may have killed Brenda, who had been diagnosed with depression.

Speaking on behalf of West Mercia Police, Detective Sergeant James Beard said: “The terrible truth is that Brenda was killed by the person who was meant to care for her most.

“He then let her family and friends go for so long not knowing what happened to her.”

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