Cheating minister murdered wife after she uncovered his sex secrets

Published on Monday 2 March 2009 21:21

A SPIRITUALIST minister was jailed for life yesterday after he was convicted of murdering his Emmy award-winning make-up artist wife and dumping her body in woodland.

David Chenery-Wickens, 52, a serial adulterer, was described as a "dangerous, predatory charlatan" by the family of his 48-year-old wife, Diane.

He killed her in January last year after a web of deception about money and sexual affairs throughout their 11-year marriage began to unravel.

He then disposed her body in woodland in East Sussex, close to their country cottage.

Throughout the four months until her body was found by a dog walker, Chenery-Wickens told a series of lies to try to eliminate himself from suspicion.

Prosecutors brought a case against him despite having no eyewitness or direct forensic evidence to link him to the crime.

Last night, after a trial lasting more than a month, Chenery-Wickens – dubbed the "Vicar of Fibley" – was starting life behind bars. He was told he would not be eligible for parole for at least 18 years.

Sentencing him at Lewes Crown Court, the judge, Mr Justice Cooke, said: "Whether it was a sudden loss of temper or in a controlled rage, you killed her, most probably by strangling her, though it is clear from the evidence that blood was spilt.

"You then disposed of the body either on that night or on 23 January, knowing it was unlikely that it would be seen for a long time."

Outside court, Russell Wickens, the dead woman's brother, said: "He repaid her unswerving love, loyalty and trust as his wife with lies, deception, cruel opportunism and deceit. Ultimately, he killed her to prevent all of this being discovered and to save himself."

Chenery-Wickens snapped after returning home on 22 January last year to a confrontation with his wife over some mystery telephone numbers on their shared bill.

She dialled one and was connected to the voicemail of a woman with whom her husband was said to be having an affair. A second number was a premium-rate gay chatline.

Jurors heard the discovery of those numbers no doubt led to the row that ended with Chenery-Wickens murdering his wife.

Described as a "sexual predator" adept at deceiving people, Chenery-Wickens told numerous lies in the days, weeks and months after his wife died.

He initially told police and relatives that he and Mrs Chenery-Wickens had travelled together by train from East Grinstead, Sussex, to London on 24 January so she could attend a BBC production meeting. Her credits included the BBC's Dead Ringers, The League Of Gentlemen and Casualty. She won an Emmy in 2000 for Arabian Nights and received a Bafta nomination for Dead Ringers three years later.

The killer claimed they parted once in the capital with an arrangement to meet later that afternoon at a hairdresser's called Blow. But she didn't show up for the hair appointment and never made any meeting at the BBC, because by that point she was already dead.

Chenery-Wickens played the role of concerned husband, as he alerted police after saying he had given her 1,000 cash for her to deposit.

When it emerged that CCTV footage from East Grinstead railway station showed him boarding the 11:07 train to London alone and not with his wife, he tailored his story.

He claimed she had staged her disappearance to escape financial and work troubles. He said she told him she planned to vanish for about ten days and then would make contact with family and friends.

He also destroyed vital forensic evidence linking him with his wife's murder, including blood on a carpet in his home.

During the trial, the jury heard from five women who said they had affairs with Chenery-Wickens after meeting him through the spiritual circuit, and from a man he met via a gay chatline three days after the murder.