Fell runner found guilty of killing lover and leaving her body in shallow grave

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/27/fell-runner-found-guilty-shallow-grave

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A fell runner who dumped his lover's body in a shallow grave on bleak moorland has been convicted of her manslaughter. Adrian Muir killed 55-year-old Pamela Jackson by fracturing her skull during a row at her home, then drove her 120 miles to the hills above Halifax, West Yorkshire.

The stonemason had placed a bunch of flowers on her body in the shallow grave he dug on Soyland Moor in late March. Poor weather hampered police efforts to find her remains until May.

By that time 51-year-old Muir, who met Jackson on a dating website, had been charged with her murder.

He continued to deny being the killer at his trial at Newcastle crown court. His phone was tracked making the journey from Chester-le-Street to the moor on the night she disappeared, and he had parked up close to where he dug the grave, 85 metres off the B6138 near Ripponden.

Muir, from Halifax, told the jury he knew "every inch" of Soyland Moor, having regularly run, biked and worked as a beater on grouse shoots there.

His fingerprint was found on the plastic bag containing the entombed flowers.<strong> </strong>

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