Darren Byrne, 40, has been found guilty of dousing his wife Maria in alcohol and setting fire to her body on February 13 this year.
The former futures trader attempted to cover his tracks by switching the gas on in their Essex home and alleging that Maria, 34 had accidentally killed herself while making him a bacon sandwich, The Guardian reports.
He then called the emergency services, saying “My wife is dead she is dead. She’s burnt badly.” When the paramedics arrived at their house, he told them that he had been out of the house, walking the dog, when his wife died.
The attack occurred after Maria confronted her husband about his affair with an osteopath in London.
The couple had two young children who were not present at the time of the murder. They were staying with their grandparents.
“Eight years ago we entrusted Maria, the most precious thing we had, to Darren Byrne. We loved him and treated him like our own son,” Maria’s mother Linda Biggs said in a statement after her son-in-law’s verdict was handed down.
“This person, instead of loving and protecting her, took her life in the most degrading way.”
