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Sex killer awaits court verdict Teacher murder conviction quashed
(about 5 hours later)
A man jailed for life for strangling a teacher to fulfil a sexual fantasy could have his conviction formally quashed by the Court of Appeal later. A man has had his conviction for the murder of a teacher formally quashed by the Court of Appeal.
Graham Coutts, 36, from Hove, East Sussex, was jailed for life in 2003 for murdering 31-year-old Jane Longhurst. Graham Coutts, 36, from Hove, East Sussex, was jailed for life in 2003 for murdering 31-year-old Jane Longhurst, who was from Brighton.
Earlier this year five Law Lords sent the case back to the court, saying jurors should have been offered the possibility of a manslaughter verdict.Earlier this year five Law Lords sent the case back to the court, saying jurors should have been offered the possibility of a manslaughter verdict.
His lawyers said manslaughter was an option because of his "lack of intent". A re-trial will take place at the Old Bailey on a date to be fixed.
If the original verdict is quashed, Coutts will have to face a new trial. The Law Lords ruled on 19 July that the murder conviction was unsafe.
Internet porn They referred the case back to the Court of Appeal to "invite that court to quash the conviction".
Appeal judges had last year dismissed an appeal by the musician, ruling the murder conviction was safe, but they reduced his 30-year minimum term to 26 years. Miss Longhurst was found dead on Wiggonholt Common, near Pulborough, West Sussex, on 19 April, 2003.
Miss Longhurst, from Brighton, was found dead on Wiggonholt Common, near Pulborough, West Sussex, on 19 April 2003.
During his trial, Coutts, who was obsessed with internet porn, admitted he had been present when the special needs teacher died, but denied murder, saying her death was an accident during consensual sex.
Miss Longhurst was strangled with a pair of tights.
Jurors heard her body was kept in a storage unit for weeks before it was found.