Man jailed for killing online 'friend'

Marice McGregor. Photo / supplied

Dean Mulligan has been jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 15 years for the murder of Wanganui woman Marice McGregor.

Mulligan, 44, was today sentenced at the High Court in Wanganui after being found guilty last month of bludgeoning Ms McGregor, 45, to death in April last year.

Mulligan, an amputee and former computer technician, met Ms McGregor on an internet dating site.

He bashed her to death with three blows on the head with an iron bar in a ravine off State Highway 4, 50km north of Wanganui.

- NZPA