Husband guilty of wife's murder

Mrs Sutcliffe's daughters described Bamford as vile and evil

A man who shot his wife dead at their home in Zimbabwe has been found guilty of her murder.

Michael Bamford, 51, of Littleborough, Greater Manchester, killed Ivy Sutcliffe, 61, at their luxury home in Harare four years ago.

He married the wealthy widow three months before he killed her with a single shot to the head.

He had denied murder but was found guilty following a three-week trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Bamford, a taxi driver, initially blamed robbers for murdering his wife, before changing his story and telling police she had committed suicide.

Two shots

He told detectives his wife suffered from depression and had attempted suicide several times in the past.

Mrs Sutcliffe died at the couple's home in Harare, on 2 August 2004.

On the night of the murder, Bamford's neighbour, Dr Stuart Hargreaves, heard two shots coming from their house.

Minutes later Bamford telephoned Dr Hargreaves, claiming Mrs Sutcliffe had shot herself.

Bamford claimed his wife shot herself

The gun was tucked between her body and the arm of the settee.

The court heard that while waiting in hospital Bamford produced the gun and told Dr Hargreaves he wanted to dispose of it because it was unlicensed and also that he hoped to arrange a flight out of the country the next day.

Bamford claimed that on the night she died his wife told him: "If you can't beat them, join them", poured herself a drink, sat down and shot herself in the head.

The court was told the couple emigrated to Zimbabwe in 1998 and were married in May 2004.

Bamford was Mrs Sutcliffe's third husband and that she had inherited a significant estate from her late husband, who died in 1996.

Bamford, a regular heavy drinker, was a member of a local shooting club and had a habit of firing guns at home.

'Vile murderer'

The court heard Bamford had been violent towards his wife before. Prosecutor Alistair Webster QC told the jury Mrs Sutcliffe's fortune "rankled" with Bamford, who had no means of his own and lived off an allowance drawn from her English bank account.

Det Insp Kevin Greevy, senior investigating officer from Greater Manchester Police's Major Incident Team, said it had been a "very challenging and extremely protracted murder inquiry".

"Bamford constructed a tissue of lies and obstructed our inquiries at every turn," he said.

In a statement, Mrs Sutcliffe's daughters Rebecca, Claire and Rachel, said: "We've never been in any doubt that Bamford killed our mother, and that it was part of a calculated plan to get his hands on her money.

"He is an arrogant, drunken bully who was violent and aggressive, and robbed us of our mum, who will never see her grandchildren grow up."

The verdict confirmed that Bamford, who will be sentenced on Thursday, was an "evil, vile murderer".