Pair jailed over model's murder

It is thought Andre Nunes was either shot or beaten

Two men have been jailed for life for the kidnap and killing of a former male model whose burnt remains were found two years after his death.

Michael Weldon, 56, of Rednal, Worcestershire, and Mark Price, 41, of Birmingham, were convicted of the murder of Andre Nunes.

He was taken from his flat in 2005 and found dead in the grounds of a house near Alvechurch, a court heard.

The 47-year-old was believed to be the wrong target.

Mr Justice Foskett described Weldon as the "prime mover" of the murder.

Set alight

He was looking for another man, who he believed had assaulted a female relative, when he went with armed henchmen to Mr Nunes' flat, jurors at Birmingham Crown Court heard.

The burnt remains of Mr Nunes were found buried in a four-acre field in the grounds of Moorfields - a property in Lilley Green Road, near Alvechurch.

The body had been placed in a 6ft hole, set alight, and burned for several hours before being covered by earth.

Michael Weldon and Mark Price were jailed for life

There were no eyewitnesses to what happened inside the flat, said Rex Tedd QC, prosecuting, but at some stage Mr Nunes - possibly mistaken for the other man - was murdered.

Weldon and Price had gone to the home of Mr Nunes in Selly Oak armed with shotguns and took him away to his death in the early hours of 11 September 2005, jurors were told.

Weldon, of Toll House Road, and Price, of Wharf Road, Kings Norton, were also convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

A third man, 52-year-old Michael Oliver, who lived at the property where Mr Nunes was found, was convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

He had already pleaded guilty to separate firearms offences and was given a total of 15 years in prison.

'Brutal and senseless'

The prosecution told the court the murder was a joint enterprise.

Price may have been Weldon's driver while Oliver allowed the body to be buried at his home as a "favour" to Weldon.

Sentencing Weldon to a minimum term of 23 years in prison, Mr Justice Foskett said: "This was a callous and cold-blooded killing.

They (Weldon and Price) thought they had got away with the perfect murder, that we would never find Andre Det Supt Matt Ward

"However he was killed there would have been a period before that happened during which he would have been terrified."

Price was sentenced to a minimum term of 15 years in prison.

Mr Justice Foskett said it was unclear how Mr Nunes' was killed. Due to the state of his remains, forensic evidence had proved inconclusive.

But, he said, it was likely that he was either shot or beaten.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Nunes' sister, Siobhan Harper-Nunes, 48, described her brother's murder as a "brutal senseless killing".

She said Mr Nunes was a talented writer, musician and performer, adding that his death had devastated their close family.

After the verdict, Det Supt Matt Ward described the murder as a "vicious offence" made more so because of the "completely innocent nature of the victim".

He said: "They (Weldon and Price) thought they had got away with the perfect murder, that we would never find Andre."

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Michael Weldon and Mark Price were convicted at Birimingham Crown Court