Life for showjumper murderer

13 April 2012

Gun fanatic Mark Dyche was jailed for life today after he rammed his ex-fiancee - a talented showjumper - off the road and shot her in the face at the end of a year-long hate campaign.

The digger driver was ordered to serve a minimum of 30 years in prison after he plagued Tania Moore with chilling text messages, stalked her and threatened to break her legs and gouge her eyes out.

He then ambushed the 26-year-old on a country lane after a riding lesson less than a mile from her home in Alkmonton, Derbyshire, ran her off the road and shot her at pointblank range.

Dyche, 36, from Marston Montgomery, Derbyshire, was convicted of murder and conspiracy to rob the young rider by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday.

Judge Mr Justice Bean said he was a "cold, ruthless and dangerous killer" who had shown no remorse and was branded "loathsome" even by his own defence team.

The judge added: "You have been convicted by the jury on overwhelming clear evidence of the murder of Tania Moore and of conspiracy to rob her. You were described by your own leading counsel as a loathsome individual.

"You have never expressed a shred of remorse and even of regret that she was dead. You are a cold and ruthless killer and in my judgment a very dangerous man."

Dyche's defence counsel offered no mitigation on his behalf and told the judge that the starting point for such a murder should be 30 years.

Howard Bentham QC said: "The verdict of the jury can come as no surprise to anyone and in the light of the clear and cogent advice that was given to Mark Dyche from the earliest point in this trial it should come as no surprise to him."

The judge told Dyche he would not leave prison until 2034, at the age of 65, and said his crime was aggravated by the planning and threats leading up to the murder. Outside court, Miss Moore's mother Stella said she believed Dyche should not leave prison until he was dead.

She said: "We have experienced a horrific premeditated murder by Dyche - an evil, cold-blooded psychopath.

"The jury's verdict was just and the sentence must match the crime. Long life sentences, never to walk free again, must accompany a premeditated murder using a firearm or a knife.

"Firearms must be banned and our firearms licensing laws looked at to prevent the wrong people using them. Dyche had a gun licence which should have been removed when he assaulted my daughter Tania. In fact, he should never have had a gun licence.

"My daughter Tania died - an innocent life has been lost - but this could have been avoided if the authorities had acted. The firearms department had been informed that he was a dangerous man but this was ignored. Dyche must leave that prison in a box and no other way."

Her son Justin, 29, added: "The investigation team after Dyche was arrested has been absolutely brilliant and the judge has been very fair and the jury have been excellent. "Today it was good against evil and good won."

Dyche's sentence came after his co-defendant, Jason Bloor, was found guilty by the jury of conspiracy to rob Miss Moore.

He was remanded in custody until May 26 when he will be sentenced, along with four other men who have pleaded guilty to various offences in connection with the case. Dyche showed little emotion as he was sentenced and taken down to the cells.

Following the sentence, Peter Joyce QC, prosecuting, said: "I don't say anything other than to express the regret of the Derbyshire force about the inadequate inquiry into the robbery of Tania.

"They reported themselves to the Independent Police Complaints Commission when that became apparent very shortly after Tania's death. However, I do ask my lord to consider commending the team who investigated the murder after Tania's death."

Mr Justice Bean added: "The failure to bring anyone to justice for the robbery in 2003 despite the apparent tip-offs by Bloor and the failure to act on Tania's report of the many harassing text messages are matters of serious concern.

"It does seem to me that the Moore family and the public are entitled to a full explanation of what went wrong and the lessons that can be learnt from this tragic case."

Stella Moore, who has sat in court throughout the three-week trial, was critical of the police for failing to act on numerous warnings about his obsessive behaviour.

The court heard Dyche, who lived with his mother in Thurvaston Road, had a history of stalking women and had threatened his former wife, Paula Halliwell, at knifepoint 10 years earlier.

When his relationship with Miss Moore broke down, he plagued her with text messages, stalked her and even ordered her to be beaten and robbed by a gang wielding baseball bats at her home and riding stables.

On the night of the murder on March 29 last year, he hired the help of petty criminal Colin Colley, so he had someone to blame after the shooting.

The pair both dressed in white pesticide suits and balaclavas and waited for the riding instructor to finish a lesson.

Dyche was driving as they followed her to within a mile of her home and crashed into her Volkswagen Polo, ramming her into a hedge.

Mr Joyce said the last thing Miss Moore saw was her favourite riding jacket with her name across it, worn by Dyche as he smashed the driver's window and shot her in the face.

He later burned the getaway vehicle and asked his new girlfriend, Helen Smith, to pick them up and give him a false alibi.

Colley, who was later offered £50,000 by Dyche to take the blame for the shooting, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm to Miss Moore before the trial and gave evidence for the prosecution.

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