Pc given life for fiancee murder

Last updated at 14:22 GMT, Monday, 23 November 2009

An ex-Pc has been jailed for life with an 18-year minimum tariff for fatally bludgeoning his fiancee, then pretending she had been in a car crash.

Martin Forshaw, 27, of Tottington, Bury, admitted murdering fellow police officer Claire Howarth, 31, with a hammer days before their wedding.

Miss Howarth was found badly hurt in the driver's seat of her BMW on 7 May.

Forshaw had put her injured body into the car and caused it to crash, Manchester Crown Court was told.

'Brutal killing'

The court heard Forshaw hit Miss Howarth at least five times with a lump hammer as they were preparing to fly to St Lucia for their wedding, which had been due to take place five days later.

He then carried her downstairs at their home, put her into the driver's seat of the car and drove around secluded country lanes before accelerating the vehicle into a hedge.

Prosecutor Ray Wigglesworth QC said the then Cheshire Police officer dialling 999 and reported the bogus accident.

At the scene, Forshaw told the emergency services his fiancee had not been wearing a seatbelt.

The couple has been together for 10 months but there was evidence that Forshaw was also still seeing the mother of his four-year-old son.

Meanwhile he kept the impending wedding a secret from some of his colleagues.

The court was told the Pc was "torn" over his feelings for the two women and told his fiancée the wedding was cancelled before he struck her with the mallet.

Jailing him, Justice David Clarke called the murder "a brutal killing".

The judge added the ending of the relationship produced the "highest emotions" with "the results we can all see".

'Totally implausible'

She died at Royal Bolton Hospital.

A post-mortem examination revealed Miss Howarth died as a result of "severe head trauma" and 14 separate injuries to her neck and head.

When questioned, Forshaw said Miss Howarth had been hit as he tried to defend himself from her attacking him with the mallet, but pathologists said this was "totally implausible".

She had been due to take up a position as a community beat manager in Rochdale after completing her probationary period.

Forshaw, who was known at work by his middle name Alex, resigned from Cheshire Police when he was charged with Miss Howarth's murder.

He had joined in 2003 and was initially stationed at Macclesfield, before transferring to the operational support team at the force's headquarters in Winsford.