A struggling businessman who killed his disabled ex-wife so he could inherit the former family home has been jailed for life.

Graham Birchwood, known locally as George, was jailed for 32 years for killing ex-wife 52-year-old Sharon who was found strangled in her bedroom in Harriots Lane, Ashtead, in December 2007.

Birchwood, 55, who had been divorced from his wife for 20 years, was still the sole beneficiary of her will and stood to gain £400,000 from the sale of her houseand £75,000 from a life insurance policy.

Croydon Crown Court heard that Birchwood of Stevens Close, Epsom, who was £150,000 in debt, hired a hitman to carry out the murder while he prepared an alibi.

The court heard that DNA belonging to Birchwood’s business associate Paul Cryne, 61, was found in Sharon’s bedroom.

Surrey Police have launched extradition proceedings against Mr Cryne, a former lifeguard, who had flown in from Thailand a few days before Sharon was killed.

Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME) sufferer Sharon was found by paramedics in her bedroom, fully clothed at 1pm on Friday December 7, 2007.

She had been trussed up, bound and gagged with parcel tape and electrical wire. Her ankles had been tied and there was tape around her neck and head, Croydon Crown Court was told.

The electrical cord had been repeatedly wound around her head and a small metal handle had been used, it appears, to act as a tourniquet.

The ligature around her neck and the gagging of her mouth had caused asphyxia.

Judge Warwick McKinnon told him: “This was carefully planned in the most dreadful circumstances. Clearly you are a very dangerous man who all along has tried to evade his responsibility. You have shown no remorse whatsoever, and there are no mitigating features.

“This was a murder committed with the expectation of gain”.

According to Judge McKinnon, his accomplice stood to be paid for what he did, if he hadn’t already been paid, and there was a significant degree of planning and premeditation involved in bringing a man from Thailand.

He said: “There was also an appalling breach of trust. Sharon herself was vulnerable and severely debilitated.

“This was in effect a cold-blooded execution of a frail and vulnerable woman in her own home, for financial gain”

He smiled at his friends and relatives as he was taken from the dock.

Judge McKinnon also commended DCI Maria Woodall and her team of detectives. He said: "It was an investigation involving an enormous amount of work. I formally commend DCI Woodall and her team for an intelligent, diligent, industrious and painstaking investigation."

He smiled at his friends and relatives as he was taken from the dock. The jury’s verdict was by a 11 to one majority.

Commenting on the result, Detective Chief Inspector Maria Woodall said: “Sharon Birchwood had no known enemies.

"She lived a quiet, harmless, ordinary life style, burdened by ill health and living in rather poor conditions with little social life.

"She was totally betrayed by the greed of the man she had married and been devoted to for 30 years.

“I must praise the investigating officers because this conviction reflects their determination to get at the truth in a case where initially there was no obvious motive or any obvious clues as to the offender.

“There was meticulous forensic examination of the crime scene and any article which could possibly have connected the offender with the scene or the victim.

"The investigation was extremely thorough, looking at every aspect of those involved. This included establishing in detail all their movements over many days and all their communications including their use of a number of mobile phones.

“Birchwood made the callous decision that his ex-wife must die and then set about a ruthless plot which he hoped would distance himself from this evil crime.

"That he failed is a tribute to the officers in the Surrey Major Crime Investigation Team who investigated this case.”

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