Alan Evans killed his wife Louise at their Kidderminster home

Louise Evans was found at the bottom of the stairs at the Kidderminster home she shared with her husband on July 10 last year.

Her husband, aged 35, claimed to have come across the body of his wife at the bottom of the stairs when he was due to go to bed that night and immediately ran to a neighbour, who was a nurse, to seek medical assistance.

However, on their arrival, the nurse saw no vital signs of life and called the emergency services.

The 32-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The police began a thorough investigation into the incident and suspicions were immediately raised into Mrs Evans’ death when they found a vacuum cleaner located at the top of the stairs, with the pipe draped down them, and a skipping rope located at the bottom.

Enquires were made into Mr Evans’ background and it was discovered that he had been having an affair with another woman which his wife had found out about.  

He also claimed that during the evening when his wife died, he had been asleep on the sofa downstairs.

But examination of his telephone records and interrogation of the digital TV set box, indicated that Evans had in fact been using both devices throughout the time he claimed he was asleep.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Mrs Evans had been the victim of a serious assault that evening as well as having sustained injuries consistent with a fall down stairs.

Mr Evans was subsequently charged with murdering his wife.

Emily Colley, Senior Crown Prosecutor from West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Throughout the police investigation and prosecution of this case Alan Evans lied repeatedly in order to cover the crime that he had carried out.

"Today a jury rejected his explanation and found him guilty of murdering his wife.

"Louise Evans held suspicions that her husband was having an affair with another woman and she confronted him about this a number of times.

"He denied these allegations and convinced his wife that his future lay with her. However, he continued his affair.

"On the evening of July 9, 2012, there was a confrontation that resulted in Louise’s death. Whatever the trigger was, it is reasonable to conclude that it related to the revelation of Evans’ deception of his wife.

"Evans subjected his wife to a violent attack. Having assaulted her, he pushed or threw her down the stairs.

"If she did not die very shortly thereafter, he smothered her to death. In either case, having rendered her helpless at the bottom of the stairs, he did not intend her to survive.

"He then strategically placed a vacuum cleaner and a skipping rope near the scene of the crime in order to make it look as though that this was an accident."

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