Husband loses body-in-lake appeal

Evelyn Lund's body was discovered in her 4x4 car in a lake near the couple's retirement home in the remote village of Rayssac, south-west France, in 2001.

Three years later, following police tests on the car, her husband Robert, from Darwen, Lancashire, was arrested for her murder.

In October 2007 the former tree surgeon was found guilty of an offence akin to manslaughter by a court in Albi, in the Tarn area of France, and jailed for 12 years.

He launched an appeal and on Friday a jury at his retrial in Toulouse rejected claims that his second wife's death was simply a "tragic accident" and agreed with the first jury that he had killed his wife and dumped her body in the lake.

Lund, who was jailed in 2004, expects to be released next year, when he will have served half his sentence.

On Friday night Mrs Lund's brother Christopher Wilkinson said the family could finally see an end to the "tragic events" of nearly 10 years ago.

"These have been long, hard years and unfortunately Evelyn's parents did not live to see these judgments. We now hope to put these awful events behind us and finally let the wounds heal," he said.

Relatives will now be awarded damages, with each of Mrs Lund's daughters receiving about £25,000, Maitre Herve Renier, the family's lawyer, said. Her two brothers, her late parents and grandchildren will also receive between £6,000 and £13,000 each.

The jury of seven men and five women, along with three judges, took four hours to dismiss Lund's claim that his wife had driven into the lake by accident. Members of Mrs Lund's family wept as the verdict was read out by the presiding judge.