Man jailed after killing wife in cheating row

A 66-year-old man who murdered his wife after she accused him of cheating has been given a life sentence.

Walter Buchanan will serve a minimum of 15 years in prison for killing his wife Darrel, 37, at their flat near Hamilton racecourse in South Lanarkshire on 18 February 2023.

The High Court in Glasgow heard how she suffered a "significant" compression of her neck as well as a brain injury, bruising and a rib fracture.

Buchanan denied the crime, but a jury convicted him of murder.

When he appeared for sentencing at the High Court in Edinburgh, Judge Lord Cubie told him of the pain that he caused to Ms Buchanan's family.

He said: "I have read from victim impact statements of the loss and suffering that you have left her relatives with. You have caused huge upset and upheaval.

"There is nothing that I can say or do that can deal with their loss.

"You describe the events of that evening as being a nightmare for you. I have taken everything that has been said on your behalf into account."

The earlier trial heard how the couple had met in 2015 while Buchanan was on holiday in Thailand. They married two years later.

Jurors were told how Buchanan was "besotted" with his wife, who was from Kenya.

The chartered surveyor was already a father of two when the pair met, and she had a young son.

On the night before the killing, Buchanan had been out with friends in Bothwell in South Lanarkshire.

Ms Buchanan was said to have been unhappy and wondered if her husband was happier with other women.

Buchanan told the trial he got a text from her which read: "I guess you are having fun in Bothwell without your wife, cheater".

He said she accused him of infidelity again once he got home.

Buchanan claimed she "lunged" at him before he "connected" with her, grabbed her hair and they both fell.

She was then dragged across the floor.

Buchanan said his wife got up and left the room. When Ms Buchanan returned to the room, her husband was in bed.

Buchanan claimed she called him "a cheater" once more and he grabbed her wrists, pushed her onto the bed and got on top of her.

He told his lawyer Iain McSporran KC: "She was still flailing her arms. I was defending myself with one arm and I remember putting my hand on her face and pushed her."

Mr McSporran said: "We know there were marks identified on her neck which identifies strangulation - the prosecution say there was strangulation.

"There was a thumb mark and bruises, did you cause them?"

Buchanan said: "Yes I did, I had her by the neck - it was seconds - and it was with one hand."

He also admitted pushing his wife into a pillow before she rolled over onto her side.

It was Buchanan who made a 999 call the next morning claiming he had woke up and found his wife "cold to the touch".

Emergency services arrived but could not save her. The court heard she had suffered "significant" compression of her neck.

Mr McSporran told the court his client had been a law abiding member of society before the murder.

He added: "He has been a fully productive member of the community and has been a hard working man.

"He is extremely anxious and wants to avoid attributing any blame. He knows that if it were not for his actions she would not have died."