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Policeman jailed for fiancee murder
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A policeman who bludgeoned to death his police constable fiancee just hours before they were due to fly to St Lucia for their wedding has been jailed for life.
Martin Forshaw, 27, told Claire Howarth, 31, their marriage was off and repeatedly struck her with a heavy lump hammer at their home in Tottington, Greater Manchester, Manchester Crown Court heard.
He then carried her into her BMW car and drove around secluded country lanes before he staged a bogus road traffic accident with her slumped body at the wheel.
The former Cheshire Constabulary officer, an expert in self-defence techniques, was "torn" between his feelings for Pc Howarth and the mother of his four-year-old son from a previous relationship.
Forshaw became increasingly agitated as the wedding loomed but "simply buried his head in the sand" and ultimately "lost his self control" on the day they were set to jet out to the Caribbean island, where they were to be married five days later.
Her mother Irene Howarth told the court that she was "overwhelmed" with grief.
"Instead of watching my beautiful daughter at her wedding, I was left with the unimaginable task of organising her funeral," she wrote in her victim impact statement.
Forshaw was sentenced to a minimum term of 18 years after he admitted killing Pc Howarth ahead of the trial, which was set to start on Monday.
The attack took place in the spare bedroom of the couple's three-bed semi-detached home in Meadow Way, where blood spots were found close to her wedding dress and their presents.
Sentencing Forshaw, Mr Justice Clarke said: "This was a brutal killing. Whatever immediately led up to it, you struck Claire Howarth at least five times to and around the head with a very heavy and dangerous instrument, designed to strike very hard blows."
