Undertaker found guilty of killing his wife

AN UNDERTAKER has been found guilty of murdering his wife after she disappeared from the family home last year.

John Taylor, 61, was convicted by a jury at Worcester Crown Court of killing retired primary school teacher Alethea Taylor at their bungalow in 2012, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Mrs Taylor, 63, was last seen alive in January last year.

Taylor reported his wife missing to the police, who launched an investigation to locate her.

However, her body has never been found and Taylor has refused to divulge what he has done with it.

During his trial, jurors heard that the funeral director, who was having an affair with a woman from a neighbouring village at the time, had been keen to spread rumours that his wife was losing her mind in the run-up to her disappearance on 19 January last year.

Taylor, of Orleton, Herefordshire, previously said he believed his wife was still missing.

David Elliott, from West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service, yesterday branded Taylor a “deceitful man”.

Mr Elliot said: “John Taylor has spun a web of lies in order to avoid justice, however, a jury has seen through his deceit and they have found him guilty of murdering his wife.

“The defendant reported his wife missing from their family home and he claimed to the police that she was suffering from dementia and had a habit of wandering off in a confused state. This was a blatant lie designed to explain away her disappearance.

“John Taylor is a deceitful man and today he has been found guilty of murdering his wife.

“We will never know how Mrs Taylor was killed or where her body has been concealed.

“Only the defendant has the knowledge and answers to these questions. We would encourage him to inform the authorities of where he has hidden the body so that Mrs Taylor can be finally laid to rest and her family and friends can get some form of closure in this tragic case.”