Man guilty of killing missing wife

A wealthy landowner has been found guilty of murdering his estranged wife, who went missing two years ago and whose body was never found.

Kate Prout, 55, a retired teacher, vanished from the £1.2m farm she shared with her husband, Adrian Prout, on 5 November 2007, the day after she demanded a larger divorce settlement.

Prout, 47, from Redmarley in Gloucestershire, was found guilty of her murder at Bristol Crown Court yesterday. Since Mrs Prout's disappearance, he has become a father with his fiancee, Debbie Garlick. He will be sentenced on Monday.

Mrs Prout's family burst into tears after the verdict was passed. After it was read out, Mrs Prout's brother, Richard Wakefield, appealed to Prout to reveal where he had hidden his sister's body. He said: "Nothing will bring Kate back to us, but we are pleased that justice has been done.

"It is a big relief that the trial has ended with this verdict and this will go some way towards allowing us to move forward. We would, however, appeal to Adrian to tell us what happened to Kate and where she is because we would like to lay her to rest and say our goodbyes."