Briton Luke Walker found guilty of killing girlfriend in Crete

Luke Walker leaving Moxed Court in Crete (PA)

A British man has been was given an eight-year prison sentence for killing his girlfriend on the holiday island of Crete.

Luke Walker, from Brierley Hill, near Dudley, was convicted at Heraklion Mixed Criminal Court of GBH leading to death after Chelsea Hyndman died on May 17, 2010.

He immediately appealed against the verdict and was told the sentence would be suspended pending a retrial at an appeals court. He was told he can return to England provided he paid a 10,000 euro (£8,552) bail surety but must return to the Greek island for the retrial.

Walker was accused of beating Miss Hyndman and causing her fatal injuries. She died of acute peritonitis, the court heard. He maintained that she sustained the injury in a fall on a night out on May 6, a claim supported in evidence given to the court by Louise Purdy, a friend of the couple.

But the court also heard evidence from Eda Quirici, a neighbour of the couple, who said she often heard “intense arguments” between the pair and that on one occasion a few days before Miss Hyndman died she heard “the girl screaming like someone does like when someone is being chased or being beaten”.