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'Secret lover' guilty of murder 'Secret lover' guilty of murder
(about 1 hour later)
A 52-year-old man has been convicted of killing his "secret lover" and then setting fire to a bedroom to try to cover up the crime. A 52-year-old man has been convicted of murdering his "secret lover" and then setting fire to a bedroom to try to cover up the crime.
The jury at Cardiff Crown Court returned a majority verdict on Royston Moore, of Nantymoel, Bridgend.The jury at Cardiff Crown Court returned a majority verdict on Royston Moore, of Nantymoel, Bridgend.
He killed married mother-of-one Beverley Parkhouse, 45, in September 2006, at her father's Ogmore Vale home. He denied killing married mother-of-one Beverley Parkhouse, 45, in September 2006, at her father's Ogmore Vale home.
The jury was directed to return a majority verdict on Friday. Moore will be sentenced at a later date. The jury of eight women and four men took just over 14 hours to find Moore guilty at the end of a six week trial.
Moore will be sentenced at a later date following reports but he was told he faces a mandatory life term.
Following the verdict, the court heard Moore had a previous conviction for harassing another woman after she broke off their relationship.
Clandestine relationship
The court heard the body of Mrs Parkhouse, a carer who had been married for 27 years, was discovered by her father on 4 September, 2006.
The court heard she sometimes stayed with her father Kenneth Palmer after the death of her mother six months beforehand and that Moore would secretly visit her there.
Gerard Elias QC, prosecuting, told the court Mrs Parkhouse had been involved in the clandestine relationship for about a year.
Mr Elias said Mrs Parkhouse's husband Andre, daughter and her father had been unaware of the affair although some of her friends and colleagues had been suspicious.
He told the court Moore was "both jealous and yet tiring of the affair".
Royston Moore had harassed another woman, the court heard
He said Moore, who described himself as "honest" and "easygoing" in an advert with a dating agency, tried to contact a woman through the company six days after Mrs Parkhouse's death.
After his arrest, the court heard, Moore confessed to two fellow inmates at Cardiff prison that he had throttled Mrs Parkhouse.
Moore did not give evidence himself, but his barrister Peter Rouch QC told the jury the alleged "cell confessions" were made up or by "unscrupulous criminals" in order to claim a reward.
The night before she died Mrs Parkhouse had been to Nantymoel Social Club with friends, as had Moore.
They left separately and Mrs Parkhouse went to her father's home.
In the morning her father became concerned when she failed to get out of bed, Mr Elias said.
He then found her dead in bed.
Smoke alarm
It was initially thought Mrs Parkhouse could have died after inhaling fumes, but experts later revealed pressure had been placed on her neck and face, and the fire, which had been started at the bottom of the bed, had extinguished itself.
Mr Elias said there was no sign of a break-in at the house but a battery had been taken from a smoke alarm.
After his arrest, Moore told police she had contacted him after he went home from the club.
He said he went to Mr Palmer's house at Mrs Parkhouse's insistence and that they kissed and cuddled in his car before she returned to her father's house alone.
The court also heard Moore, who has been married three times, made inquiries about emigrating to Canada and Australia in the days after Mrs Parkhouse's death, which Mr Elias claimed was an attempt to evade police.
Speaking after the case, Mrs Parkhouse's family said: "Moore has stolen from us such a beautiful and caring person and we cannot help but feel it should be life for a life.
"It has been an unimaginable and horrific 18 months but as a family we would like to thank all those people who have been there for us and we are grateful for their support.
"Bev was a person who spent her life caring for others and because of the callous actions of Moore she has been deprived of the chance to care for her new granddaughter.
"She will be missed deeply by all her friends and family and will never be forgotten."