A HAMPSHIRE husband has been found guilty of murder.

Jurors at Winchester Crown Court convicted Michael Gifford-Hull of murdering his Finnish-born wife Kirsi on a 10-2 majority verdict.

Father-of-two Gifford-Hull, 43, had admitted killing Kirsi, 38, accidentally, but denied murder.

The court heard how he had killed her at their Winchester home, thrown her body out of an upstairs window and driven to Micheldever Woods, where he had buried her in a shallow grave.

Gifford-Hull will be sentenced tomorrow. He is facing a life term behind bars.

Outside court, Kirsi's parents Juhani and Leena Pihlajamaki said: "We are pleased that justice has prevailed but no sentence will ever bring our beloved daughter Kirsi home to her parents, family and beautiful children who will never forget her.

"Kirsi wanted nothing from life but to love and care for her children and this she did with such passion and tenderness. She was radiant with happiness whenever we saw her. Kirsi's laughter was infectious. She was effervescent, tender, gentle, caring and compassionate to everyone."

Detective Superintendent David Kilbride said: "Michael Gifford-Hull told lie after lie to the police, to her family in Finland and their two children. He deliberately and carefully laid a false trail involving the apparent disappearance of clothes, money and her passport.

"The evidence has shown Michael Gifford-Hull in his true light - a selfish man thinking not of his wife or children but of himself."

See tomorrow's Daily Echo investigation into what made a family man murder his wife.