Wife killer leads police to where he buried body

Convicted murderer Adrian Prout led police to the spot where he disposed of his wife's body four years ago, after finally admitting that he killed her.

The millionaire landowner, 49, was handcuffed to officers as they searched his 276-acre estate, Redhill Farm in Redmarley, Gloucestershire for the remains of Kate Prout, 55, who vanished on Bonfire Night in 2007.

Prout was convicted at Bristol crown court in February last year of murder and jailed for life with a minimum 18-year term but maintained his innocence. Mrs Prout's body has not been found.

The court heard that he had offered her a divorce settlement of £600,000 but she wanted more. He is understood to have admitted the killing to his fiancée Debbie Garlick after failing a lie detector test in prison. Ms Garlick, with whom Prout fathered a child after his wife disappeared, is believed to have gone to police.

Detective Superintendent Simon Atkinson, of Gloucestershire police, said Prout had admitted to detectives that he murdered his wife - "something which he had always denied...  He has agreed to visit the farm to point out the exact location. A detailed search will be conducted next week.

"Our main priority now is to recover Mrs Prout's body and enable her family to have some closure after the long ordeal they have been through."

Prout, who owned a successful pipe-laying business and ran a commercial pheasant shoot, is said to have told Ms Garlick that he strangled his wife, a retired teacher after a row and buried her body on his £1.2 million farm.

Prout was thought to have used his expertise as a professional pipe-layer to bury her body. The last time anyone heard from her was at 3.29pm on November 5, when she called her bank, First Direct.

Since then no organisations have had any contact with her, including banks and passport agencies.