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Man found guilty of wife's murder Man found guilty of wife's murder
(about 1 hour later)
A father-of-four has been found guilty of murdering his wife in a house fire. A father-of-five has been found guilty of murdering his wife in a house fire.
Alan Stead, of Meynell Fields, Loggerheads, in Staffordshire, denied starting a fire at their home in May 2002, killing his wife Anita. Alan Stead, of Meynell Fields, Loggerheads, in Staffordshire, denied starting a fire at their home in May 2002, killing his wife Anita, aged 39.
He was arrested 12 months ago after Staffordshire Police were persuaded to reopen the case. She died in a room he built in the garage of their home used to hide a computer game counterfeiting operation.
The 42-year-old was sentenced to life in prison and the judge at Stafford Crown Court said he should serve at least 25 years. Stead, who was arrested last year after Staffordshire Police were persuaded to reopen the case, was given life in prison to serve a minimum of 25 years.
Prosecutors alleged he wanted to kill his wife because she had told him she wanted a divorce.
Stead described the fire as a tragic accident
The court heard he said he only found out about the blaze when he was woken by his two-year-old daughter.
He described it as a tragic accident.
Earlier in his trial, Stead admitted lying to police about his efforts to rescue his wife.
He told the court he had exaggerated how thick the smoke was and he felt like he wanted to tell people he had tried harder than he did.