Pregnant woman's attacker is jailed

Simon Morris, 37, attacked Nerys Price, 35, while she slept in bed at their home in Calthorpe Drive, Prestatyn, in August last year.

Morris was convicted of attempted murder and attempted child destruction at Mold Crown Court.

Morris hit his partner in the head with a hammer and covered it up to look like a burglary gone wrong.

The Denbighshire Council highways officer stood to land several hundred thousand pounds after Ms Price's death, the court heard.

In the run-up to the attack he was "the driving force" behind them changing their wills. Her death would have made him the sole beneficiary.

A jury of eight men and four women found him guilty of both counts after a three-week re-trial.

Standing in the dock, Morris wiped away tears as Judge Merfyn Hughes QC told him he had committed a "shocking" crime.

The judge said: "The jury have convicted you on the basis of compelling evidence. To have tried to kill your partner within just a few weeks of her giving birth is, in my opinion, quite a shocking and aggravating feature. It was a wicked and callous attempt to rid yourself of a partner who was willing to have your child and who had done nothing but give you love and affection."

Morris was jailed for 25 years for the attempted murder of Ms Price and a further 25 years, to be served concurrently, for the attempted destruction of his daughter.