The Crown Prosecution Service has decided not to proceed with the murder charge against the husband in the "Lady of the Lake" case.

Gordon Park had been charged with murdering his wife Carol, whose body was found at the bottom of Coniston Water in the Lake District.

She had disappeared 21 years earlier from the couple's home near Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria.

The body, clothed in just a nightdress, was bound and weighted.

Mr Park was arrested last August shortly after returning from holiday in France with his third wife.

The last time 30-year-old Carol Park was seen alive was when she decided to stay at home rather than join a family trip to Blackpool because she was feeling unwell.

Gordon Park: looking forward to being re-united with his family

During their investigation, detectives searched Mr Park's house as well as a boat he kept moored on Coniston Water.

The Crown Prosecution Service said that the decision to drop the murder charge had been taken after consultations with lawyers and the police.

In a statement, the CPS said "there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction."

Cumbria Police say they are keeping open their files on the case.
 

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