Killer fell runner to be sentenced
A fell runner who killed his girlfriend in a row then buried her body in a shallow grave on bleak moorland will be sentenced today.
Adrian Muir, 51, from Calder Terrace, Halifax, West Yorkshire, was cleared of murdering Pamela Jackson, 55, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham.
But he was found guilty of manslaughter at Newcastle Crown Court following a four week trial.
Muir, a drystone-waller, had denied any involvement in the grandmother's death, despite overwhelming evidence.
Senior investigator Det Supt Ken Donnelly said Muir was "calculating and resourceful" and did not "have the decency to admit his guilt".
Ms Jackson went missing in March and her body was only discovered on Soyland Moor, near Halifax, in May after efforts to find her were hampered because of bad weather.
Her killer told the jury he knew "every inch" of the moors, having ridden, run and worked there as a grouse beater.
After the trial, Mr Donnelly said: "Muir went to incredible lengths to dispose of the body.
"He is a dry stone waller who knew how to lay foundations and dig quickly.
"He had all the skills to dig the grave and construct a series of layers of soil, clay and other material."
Muir's phone was tracked making the 120 mile journey from Chester-le-Street to the West Yorkshire moor on the night Ms Jackson disappeared.
A CCTV camera caught Muir cleaning the back of his Kia in a Chester-le-Street supermarket car park. His fingerprint was found on a bag containing flowers he had placed on her body.
In the days after killing Ms Jackson, Muir was suicidal and recorded a series of messages on his phone, saying he could not continue to live and that there had been a "disaster".
Ms Jackson, a mother-of-three adult sons who suffered from bi-polar disorder, had taunted Muir in a series of texts, calling him "ugly" and boasting she had a new lover, the jury heard.
