Abuser who murdered husband and buried him in garden jailed for minimum of 22 years
A domestic abuser who murdered her husband and buried him in their garden has been jailed for at least 22 years.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Maureen Rickards was a "callous abuser" who caused her husband "unimaginable pain and suffering".
She was found guilty at Canterbury Crown Court last month and was today given a mandatory life sentence with a minimum term of 22 years.
Jeremy Rickards, 65, was found dead at the couple's property in Canterbury, Kent, on 11 July 2024.
He had five stab wounds to his chest, as well as non-fatal injuries sustained about 10 days before his death and other wounds thought to have been weeks old.
Police believe he was killed a month earlier and his body stored in a cupboard before being moved.
Rickards, 50, told their daughter he had gone to Saudi Arabia for work, but police had no record of him leaving the UK.
The daughter became concerned by the style of messages she received and asked her mother if she'd taken over his phone.
The last record of Mr Rickards being alive was when he topped up his phone on 8 June. CCTV showed his wife using his bank card in shops a few weeks later.
Police said he was also seen with bruising on his face in a pub the month before, telling a staff member he had been in a car accident.
But video found on his wife's phone showed her shouting at him and the sounds of her beating him.
Mr Rickards briefly moved out of their home in early June and was seen with numerous injuries at the property he stayed in, said Kent Police.
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Detectives said Rickards had never expressed remorse for the killing and tried to blame others.
"This was a horrific murder of a man who we believe had been a supportive husband to his wife, despite her violence towards him," said Detective Inspector Colin McKeen.