A former UKIP councillor has been found guilty of murdering his wife, after he had an affair with their son’s partner and now faces life in jail.
Stephen Searle, 64, strangled his wife, Anne, at their home in Stowmarket, Suffolk, on 30 December. The ex-Royal Marine had denied killing Mrs Searle, 62, after she found out about the affair with Anastasia Pomiateeva.
He was found guilty by a jury at Ipswich Crown Court and will be sentenced on Wednesday. Judge Mr Justice Green said Searle’s “act of infidelity in one way or another led to this”.
It took the jury three-and-a-half hours to find him guilty of murder, after a six-day trial. Searle had previously told a jury his wife had uncovered his affair with Ms Pomiateeva, who is the mother to at least one of their grandchildren, months before she died.
He claimed that on the day of her death, his wife of 45 years had attacked him with a knife following an argument and was killed in the struggle that ensued.
In a victim impact statement, one of Searle’s sons, also called Stephen, said: “Not only have I lost my mum, but because of what he’s done I’ve lost my dad too.”
