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Man guilty of missing wife murder | Man guilty of missing wife murder |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A man has been convicted of murdering his wife whose body was never found after she went missing in 2002. | |
Tina Baker, 41, was last seen in July that year when she left her new lover's home in Sunbury, Surrey. | |
She was on her way to feed animals at the farm in Chobham which she had previously shared with her husband. | |
Martin Baker, 54, of Ayebridges Avenue, Egham, denied killing her, saying he knew nothing of her disappearance, but he was found guilty at the Old Bailey. | |
Baker was remanded in custody for sentencing later this month. | Baker was remanded in custody for sentencing later this month. |
Mark Dennis QC, prosecuting, said circumstantial but "very powerful" evidence pointed to him having killed his wife and disposing of her body and car. | |
Det Supt Brian Russell said after the conviction: "We do not know how she died. | |
"He could have fed her to the pigs, he could have buried her or dumped her in water." | |
The court was told Baker feared losing the couple's £100,000 Brookfield Farm after his wife had walked out on him and moved back in with her parents. | |
Martin Baker was described as a controlling and jealous man | |
She left Sunbury to drive to the farm on 8 July, 2002. | |
Her husband denied being there, but witness Fiona Cooper, who arrived at the farm on the same day to tend to a horse in a nearby field, told how she was ushered away by an "agitated" Baker. | |
Mr Dennis told the court: "He immediately told her she couldn't stay... she was left feeling that he couldn't wait to get rid of her." | |
Mrs Baker's disappearance was not reported to police for three weeks. | |
Det Supt Russell said: "She had just vanished off the face of the earth. | |
"We will be hoping to speak to Martin Baker to ask him to reveal where Tina's body is." | |
Pigs' swill and manure at the farm was checked after his first wife, Gillian Hopkins, told police of threats he made before their divorce. | |
She claimed he said he would make her "disappear permanently" by cutting her up and feeding her to the pigs. |