Dutch court jails wife killer

The couple met through an advert

A Dutch court has sentenced a British man to 13 years in jail for murdering his wife.

Suzanne Davies, from Long Crendon near Thame in Oxfordshire, died in a fire at her home in Holland in July 1995.

Her husband, Kevin Sweeney, 50, was acquitted of her murder in 1996 after his defence team argued that he stood to gain nothing financially from her death.

But the case went to appeal after Suzanne's mother, Jacqueline Davies, discovered her daughter's life had been insured for hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Lonely heart

Suzanne Davies, twice divorced mother-of-one, met Kevin Sweeney in February 1994 after he placed a lonely hearts advertisement in Private Eye.

Within 18 months the couple were living in the Netherlands and Suzanne had made four wills.

After her death her mother discovered several insurance policies totalling £635,000 in Suzanne's name.

To think that he looked at that little girl knowing he was going to take her mother's life - that's really, really hard to come to terms with

Jacqueline Davies

Mrs Davies launched a personal investigation into her daughter's death and discovered Sweeney had been married twice before.

His second wife, Beverley Flint, died suddenly of heart failure in 1993 at the age of 33 when she was three months pregnant.

Three judges at the court of appeal in Den Bosch heard the case against Kevin Sweeney this week and overturned the original findings.

The Dutch legal system permits prosecution lawyers to appeal against acquittal.

'Sad day'

Speaking at her home in Long Crendon, Mrs Davies said she was elated at the sentence given to her former son-in-law.

She said: " We have been through an awful lot in the last six years since Suzanne died in 1995, an enormous amount."

Mrs Davies said she vigourously campaigned for Sweeney to stand trial again because she said she knew he was guilty of murdering her daughter and his motive had been money.

She said she was very pleased justice had been done but it was also a very sad day.

She said: "Nothing is going to bring Suzanne back and that's the bottom line. She's gone.

"And it's not just for us but for her little girl who no longer has a mother and that's hard. To think that he looked at that little girl knowing he was going to take her mother's life - that's really, really hard to come to terms with."