Man murdered Mercedes executive

Alan Jermey strangled Kirsty Wilson, then set fire to her

A martial arts expert who strangled his partner after learning she planned to leave him for another man has been found guilty of murder.

Alan Jermey was "obsessive" about Mercedes executive Kirsty Wilson, the mother of his two children, and could not let her go, the Old Bailey heard.

Miss Wilson, who lived with Jermey in Surrey, was in love with Simon Goddard, her boss at a dealership in Hampshire.

Jermey was remanded in custody until Monday to await sentencing.

He will receive a life term with a minimum tariff set by the judge.

The court was told Miss Wilson had ended her nine-year relationship with Jermey, telling him: "I can't see us spending the rest of our lives together."

But Jermey was not prepared to lose her, their two daughters, or their four-bedroom house in Woking.

He secretly ordered a 100,000-volt stun gun over the internet so he could knock her out before killing her, the court heard.

After pouring petrol over her body, he it set alight and clambered on to an extension roof with their two daughters, as one of them cried: "I want mummy."

Jermey, who worked for a car firm near Heathrow, claimed in court he had gone to bed early and was prevented from saving Miss Wilson from the fire by thick black smoke.

But when firefighters arrived they found there were only a few wisps of smoke and that he seemed calm and unconcerned about what had happened.

In a statement after Friday's verdict Miss Wilson's parents, Peter and Sandra, said the real victims of the murder were their grandchildren.

"Our grandchildren have been deprived of their mother for the rest of their lives," said the couple, from Bradford in West Yorkshire.

"They are too young to understand why their mummy has left them and gone to heaven."

The court heard Kirsty Wilson was in love with Simon Goddard

Mr Goddard, who had left his wife for Miss Wilson, said his life had been destroyed.

"If you go through life and meet your soulmate you are extremely lucky," he said.

"I think very few people ever achieve this. I did, and now I have lost her.

"We knew that we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives, but wanted to minimise hurt to our families around us."

Det Insp Paul Monk said: "Jermey was consumed with jealousy and rage.

"He violently murdered the mother of his children and set fire to her, hoping that their family home would go up in flames and crudely cover up the killing.

"His wicked act has deprived two young girls of both their parents."