Life sentence for 'savage' city broker who burned his wife to death

And yesterday the judge stipulated Darren Byrne must serve at least 24 years behind bars before he is even considered for release on parole.

The distraught mother of the victim of Byrne, 40, of Epping, who was having an affair at the time of the murder, said after his conviction that he should "rot in eternal damnation."

Her devastation at the death of her only daughter and loathing for Byrne filled the hushed court room as she gave an emotional and powerful speech about the family’s loss before Byrne was sentenced today at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Before Byrne was sentenced, Maria's mother Linda Biggs read out a victim impact statement, which she directed at her son-in-law in the dock, and which left some in court dabbing tears from their eyes..

In a forceful, hate-filled tone, often cracking with emotion and glaring at Byrne in the dock, she said: "We have lost the daughter of our dreams, our baby.

"Maria and I did everything together and we confided in each other. Our hearts are broken in two.

"One half is filled with rage towards Darren and the other is filled with the overwhelming love for Maria and her two boys, Harry and Oliver.

"The boys were her life, she adored them.

"We cannot bear the thought that she will never walk through our gate, that we will never be able to kiss her again and she will never again dance around the kitchen table with her boys.

"It's an honour and a privilege to look after them but we should not be doing this, this is Maria's job.

"They will have to grow up without a mummy or a father and are now in effect orphaned by Darren's actions. Darren didn't think of the boys at all when he took Maria's life."

Mrs Biggs continued : "We now dedicate the rest of our lives to Maria's darling boys for they are her most wonderful legacy and we see Maria in them every day." 

Byrne looked close to tears and hung his head as Mrs Biggs took to the stand to read her statement.

About 20 family and friends of the murdered woman were in the public gallery. Byrne's father sat separately. 

Byrne was convicted by an 11-1 majority on Monday of murdering mum-of-two Maria Byrne, 35, on 13 February this year.

The prosecution said Byrne had staged the scene in the kitchen of their £900,000 home in Morgan Crescent, Theydon Bois, to make it look like she had had an accident while cooking him a bacon sandwich, turned on the gas hoping the house would explode and taken the dog for a 50 minute walk.

He claimed he found her dead when he returned after just 30 minutes and went through a charade with a 999 operator, pretending to give her CPR.

He was also unanimously convicted of arson, being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, which he denied.

Judge Charles Gratwick as he jailed Byrne told him: "You were convicted of a cruel and merciless killing of your wife and of arson" 

Maria, he said, was a "loving wife and mother with everything to live for".

He continued : "What exactly happened in the kitchen on 13 February and why, one will never know for certain. She is dead.

"And you lied at the start to police, you lied to her family and friends and clearly on the jury's verdict you lied to them."

The judge said what happened to Byrne's wife in the 30 minutes after she became unconscious was also not clear.

"What is clear is that once she became unconscious you decided to burn her to death knowing her still to be alive and intending to kill her and at the same time to cover your tracks by setting the house on fire," he said.

He added that all in court would have felt "sickness and revulsion" at what they heard.

"It was a brutal and callous killing and by your actions not only did you extinguish Maria's life but you left your two boys motherless and her family totally devastated," he said.

"The effect of your savagery will live with them for the rest of their lives."

The minimum term that those sentenced to life have to serve before parole is 15 years. But the judge increased this to 24 years because of how Byrne killed her, tried to cover it up and because of his lying and "trying to build a false impression " of what happened.

During the two-week trial, the court heard Byrne had been having an affair with osteopath Deborah Houlihan, a married mother of teenagers in her early 40s, since June last year.

The jury heard that Maria probably discovered he had texted his lover from his secret mobile on the fatal morning and they rowed. Byrne admitted he lashed out and his wife fell and hit her head on the floor.

The jury had been told that she was unconscious for around 30 minutes but still alive when her clothing was doused with white spirit and set alight.

Byrne had claimed set fire to her in an “overwhelming  panic” to cover up what he had done.

Byrne claimed he thought she was faking a panic attack and breathing difficulties and left her sitting up alive. He said she was dead when he returned and he then concocted his plan out of "overwhelming panic" to cover up what he had done.

Byrne grew up in Bexley, Kent. His parents Sean and Gill now live in Sidcup and he has a younger brother Paul.

In his 20 years as a broker he also worked for Goldman Sachs and MF Global, among other financial companies. 

Byrne and Maria, a securities support worker, married in 2008,18 months after they met at work, and have sons aged six and four.  The boys now live with Maria's parents.

Byrne was made redundant a week before that fateful Saturday from City firm RJ O'Brien (UK) Ltd.

Senior investigating officer Det Ch Insp Stephen Jennings, of Essex Police, described Byrne as "calculating and very, very selfish".

"He was motivated by his own selfishness and anger, needlessly ending Maria's life in the most horrific way and tearing apart his own family."

The officer added that Byrne had not shown any remorse and he showed "real calculation" in putting together a story so quickly.

DCI Jennings said police were quickly on to what Byrne had done from the preliminary post-mortem and forensic work, which revealed white spirit.

After the hearing, Maria's mother said she had been determined to speak in court.

"I was Maria's voice this afternoon," she said.

During her impassioned statement she wore her daughter's favourite pink fluffy scarf.

She and Maria’s father, Chris Biggs, said they had wanted Byrne to get a whole life sentence but understood the judge had to stick to guidelines so were "happy" with 24 years.

Chris Biggs described his son-in-law as "a sociopath".

He said: "We thought all along that he is a sociopath, which describes him all the way. He was never wrong, he was always right and his actions now still are of a sociopath."

Mrs Biggs added: "The trial has given us closure up to a point. I reiterate I feel nothing but overwhelming hate and rage and I hope every day is a living hell for him in prison and he rots in eternal damnation."