{"id":154221,"date":"2020-12-10T15:32:15","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T15:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/?p=154221"},"modified":"2020-12-19T10:15:28","modified_gmt":"2020-12-19T10:15:28","slug":"controlling-husband-guilty-of-murdering-wife-over-10000-divorce-settlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/controlling-husband-guilty-of-murdering-wife-over-10000-divorce-settlement\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Controlling\u2019 husband guilty of murdering wife over \u00a310,000 divorce settlement"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\"'Controlling'<\/div>
Michael Reader has been found guilty of the \u2018cold, calculated\u2019 murder of his estranged wife Marion Price (Picture: SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A \u2018manipulative and controlling\u2019 husband has been found guilty of murdering his estranged wife in a drive-by shooting after he was ordered to pay her a \u00a310,000 divorce settlement.<\/p>\n

Michael Reader, 70, blasted Marion Price, 63, with a shotgun as she sat in her Vauxhall Corsa outside her home in the village of Earls Barton, Northamptonshire, on December 15 last year.<\/p>\n

Jurors heard the \u2018money-obsessed\u2019 pensioner \u2018bitterly resented\u2019 being ordered to hand over the cash and spent months tracking her movements before carrying out the \u2018cold, calculated murder\u2019.<\/p>\n

His friend, Stephen Welch, 61, was a \u2018willing and knowing accomplice\u2019, helping Reader plan the killing, track Ms Price\u2019s movements, escape afterwards and dispose of clothing. He was also found guilty of murder following the eight-week trial.<\/p>\n

Both men will be sentenced at Northampton Crown Court on December 21.<\/p>\n

The court heard Ms Price\u2019s brother and son-in-law later discovered her body slumped in the front seat and despite attempts to provide CPR she was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n

Reader met her online in 2011 and the pair married in September 2012.<\/p>\n

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\n\"Michael<\/div>
Michael Reader has been convicted of murder (Picture: SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\"Stephen<\/div>
Stephen Welch also faces a life sentence after being convicted of murder over his help in planning the shooting (Picture: SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jurors were told that throughout their marriage, Reader controlled and manipulated Marion, belittling her, making derogatory comments about her appearance and turning the \u2018fun mum\u2019 her children knew into someone who was \u2018constantly on edge\u2019.<\/p>\n

He installed a tracker in her car a year before her death to \u2018keep tabs on her\u2019, with the system sending her location in the form of a text message.<\/p>\n

The court heard Reader was due to hand over \u00a310,000 as a \u2018financial settlement\u2019 on 9 December \u2013 six days before she was killed.<\/p>\n

Prosecutor Mary Loram QC said during the trial: \u2018We will see this was an amount he would have bitterly resented. This was no amicable agreement.<\/p>\n

\u2018Michael Reader was a man obsessed with money and it was a theme of his separation from Marion Price that he did not want to part with it.<\/p>\n

\u2018In the absence that his was anything but a cold, calculated murder, Michael Reader would, at the very least, be someone the police wanted to speak to.<\/p>\n

\u2018He was a prime candidate for someone who would not only want to cause her harm, but kill her.\u2019<\/p>\n

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The tracking device used as part of the plan to murder of Marion Price (Picture: SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the day she was shot, Marion had been to visit her sister Helen and went shopping before going to visit their mother.<\/p>\n

At 4.18pm Marion called daughter Toni before returning to her home on Packwood Crescent before she was killed at around 5pm.<\/p>\n

The court heard Reader had lain in wait for Marion for 45 minutes after parking his motorbike up on a street one mile away.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until three hours later that a neighbour noticed her car windows smashed and Marion\u2019s family rushed to the scene and found her body.<\/p>\n

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\n\"Marion<\/div>
Marion Price was shot dead on December 15 last year (Picture: SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Forensic officers conducting a search on Elderton Way in Earls Barton (Picture: SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Grey-haired Reader \u2013 who previously cleared for allegedly hitting Marion with a mallet \u2013 was later arrested at his home but denied seeing his former wife.<\/p>\n

Speaking after he was convicted, Detective Chief Inspector Joe Banfield, said: \u2018Michael Reader is a manipulative, controlling bully, who could not stand the fact that Marion Price had escaped his clutches, left him, and was starting to enjoy her life again.<\/p>\n

\u2018The campaign of abuse Reader imposed on Marion throughout their marriage caused her to live in almost constant fear.<\/p>\n

\u2018He continuously put her down, ridiculed her, used threats of violence and made her life hell while they were together.<\/p>\n

\u2018Reader was a man obsessed with control. When Marion bravely walked out on him, it was too much for him to take and he began tracking her movements.<\/p>\n

\u2018Finally, after being ordered to pay Marion \u00a310,000 as a final divorce settlement, he took the decision to murder her at close range, in cold blood.<\/p>\n

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\n\"Michael<\/div>
Michael Reader being arrested (Picture: SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018I am also very happy that Welch has also rightfully been found guilty.<\/p>\n

\u2018Without him, Reader would not have been able to plan Marion\u2019s murder and he should be utterly ashamed of himself for allowing Reader to draw him into such a sickening and calculated plan.\u2019<\/p>\n

He added: \u2018Finally, I would like to pay tribute to Marion\u2019s family who have come to court every day, showing great courage, strength and resolve. I hope the fact that justice has been served is a small comfort to them and my thoughts will remain with them long into the future.\u2019<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at\u00a0webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this,\u00a0check our news page<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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