A husband has been found guilty of a murdering his estranged wife in a car crash and jailed for a minimum of 24 years.
Iain Lawrence (53) denied deliberately driving his Peugeot 406 estate car into a tree, causing the death of his wife, Sally – but today a jury at Leicester Crown Court returned a guilty verdict following a two and a half week trial.
He has been jailed for life and will serve a minimum of 24 years for what was described as a "cold-blooded" murder.
Mrs Lawrence, 47, died almost instantly from head injuries in the collision, in Gartree Road, Oadby, on Saturday, October 6 last year.
High Court Judge, Mr Justice Leggatt, said it was premeditated over days or weeks with "malevolent detail which you executed with ruthless efficiency."
Mr Justice Leggatt said: "How you got Sally into your car, and whether by trickery or force, no-one but you can know.
"I suspect it was a combination of the two.
"However you achieved it, she cannot have imagined what you were planning to do next.
"The evidence at this trial has clearly established how you killed Sally.
"As you approached the spot which was your target, you reached across and unclipped her seatbelt.
"Then you steered the car at the tree and drove straight onto it at over 50 mph.
"You aimed so the passenger's side of the car struck the tree and bore the brunt of the collision.
"You had the protection of an airbag and seatbelt - protection you'd made sure that Sally didn't have.
"It wasn't chance but the result of your careful and cold blooded planning that you came away from the collision with a few bruises, while Sally died of catastrophic injuries.
"You thought the crash would be seen as a tragic accident and you would get away with murder."
The couple, of Ring Road, Oadby, were allegedly going through an acrimonious divorce.
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