Killer caught by prayer

Published on Friday 6 November 2009 21:46

A MURDERER whose prayers for forgiveness were overheard by police who bugged his car has been jailed for life.

George Maben's "confession" was played to an Old Bailey jury, which found him guilty on Thursday of murdering his girlfriend's wealthy mother.

Detectives arrested unemployed Maben, 45, after hearing his whispered words, "God, forgive me for what I have done."

Maben, of Rosehill, Surrey, denied murdering Maureen Cosgrove, 65, at her home in Carshalton Beeches, Surrey, on 24 March. She was strangled with a ligature in the kitchen of her 1 million home. Maben was the partner of her daughter, Lucy Rees, 34, who was expecting his baby.

Judge Jeremy Roberts ordered Maben to serve a minimum of 13 years. He said he reduced the term because the murder was out of character and Maben had been under pressure.