The wife killer

Williams, who grew up in Whitchurch and was planning to move back there, was this week jailed for life after being found guilty of murdering his 43-year-old wife Natalie.

A trial at Bristol Crown Court heard how Williams, a man who appeared to the outside world to have it all, was beset with crippling financial problems and was an "obsessively jealous" husband who believed his wife had cheated on him several times.

Thirty-three-year-old Natalie's body was found submerged in a river near their home in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, the day after Williams reported her missing on April 22 last year. A postmortem revealed she had been suffocated before being dumped in the river.

Williams - who denied murder - told police Natalie had disappeared after taking the dog for a late night walk. He said the dog later returned alone, covered in water.

Wiltshire police officers had doubts from the start and Williams was soon the prime suspect. He was arrested eight days after Natalie's body was discovered.

The trial heard that at the time of the murder, Williams was trying to buy a £525,000 converted barn in Tufton, near Whitchurch. He had taken out a £440,000 mortgage and a £35,000 bridging loan to cover the purchase.

However, Williams' computer business had gone into liquidation in February 2002. And on the day Natalie disappeared, Williams failed to complete the house sale.

"He simply had no hope of raising that money through any normal channels," said Mark Evans QC, prosecuting. "He was living in cloud cuckoo land."

The trial heard that in the weeks prior to Natalie's murder, Williams and his wife had amended their wills, making each other the sole beneficiary. Williams had also been trying to take out £650,000 life insurance for them both, which would be paid to the surviving spouse.

Days before her death, Natalie's application had been turned down. But Williams still tried to claim on an accidental death benefit policy worth £500,000, without telling the company he had been charged with her murder.

The court heard how on one occasion, Williams borrowed £70,000 from a colleague, claiming he needed the cash to buy a retirement home for his sick father. But on the very same day, he bought a brand-new Porsche worth £43,000 for his wife.

And, in an extremely rare move, jurors were told details of Williams' criminal past. These included convictions for theft, forgery, counterfeiting and deception.

The couple had been married for five years, and lived in a £350,000 riverside home on the River Avon.

Blonde Natalie was a successful buyer for a department store in Bath, while her husband ran a computer software firm called Speedy Duck.

The marriage was far from harmonious and the court heard how the couple had a volatile relationship.

In January 2002 - three months before her death - Natalie was arrested at their home for breach of the peace after a blistering row.

Williams called the police after Natalie smashed a terracotta jar on the bonnet of his Mercedes, and said she had a knife and was going to kill him. He even took out a temporary restraining order against his wife following the violent attack.

She had been unfaithful before and after their marriage and at the time of her death, she was exchanging sexually explicit e-mails with a work colleague.

The couple had moved to Bradford-on-Avon in 1999 after leaving the Newbury area. Williams claimed he caught his wife twice in compromising positions with neighbours.

Compared to Marilyn Monroe by one neighbour, pretty Natalie battled with bulimia and anorexia.

She drew strength from Princess Diana, which led to Williams getting 15 minutes of fame. In 1997, he was featured in the national press after queuing for almost nine hours to sign the Princess of Wales book of condolence at St James' Palace.

Detective Sergeant Andy Cross described Williams as arrogant and callous.

Speaking on the day Williams was found guilty, Det Sgt Scott said: "This dishonest 'ultimate con man' has attempted to spin a web of lies and deceit in his arrogant belief that he had the ability to con the police and jury into believing that someone else murdered his wife.

"The act he did is despicable. It is callous, cold-blooded and ruthless, driven by his greed for money."

He said he believed Williams had hoped Natalie's body would not be discovered too quickly to help disguise how she died, and that the police would not investigate too thoroughly.

After Williams was sentenced, Natalie's sister Nichola Laverton said: "Randle Williams created a profile of lies about Natalie to discredit her and other innocent people to disguise his guilt and in doing so he has revealed his true depraved character.

"The horror of this crime will live with us for the rest of our lives."

As Williams was led away, he blew a kiss to his family, who sat weeping in the public gallery.