UK millionaire guilty of wife's manslaughter

LONDON - A millionaire architect has been jailed for seven years for the manslaughter of his estranged wife whose body has never been found.

Michael Morton, 67, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter over the death of Gracia, 40, in 1997.

Police have said her body may have been disposed of locally by her husband who had a professional knowledge of building work. The judge in the trial, Jeremy Roberts, said both the defence and prosecution accepted that Gracia was dead.

He also said he could have reduced Morton's sentence considerably had he admitted his guilt.

"But you have not explained and the result is years of agonising on behalf of your wife's family in them not knowing what happened to her," the judge said.

He called the case "most unusual" and "one I will never forget".

The prosecution said Morton had decided to kill his wife, thinking that if he could not be with her then no one could. The judge said he was sure Morton was in "mental turmoil".

Gracia Morton had left her husband and their divorce was due to be completed just before she disappeared. She had visited him that morning.

"The defendant was the last person to see her alive," prosecutor Brian Altman told the court during the trial. "She has not been seen since and her body has never been recovered. Her disappearance was entirely out of character. "She left behind her daughter to whom she was utterly devoted, her family to whom she was entirely close and her future life for which she was busily planning," he said.

Morton was found guilty at a retrial after a jury at an earlier trial failed to reach a verdict. He showed no reaction as he was led away from the court.

- REUTERS