Farmer's wife encouraged lover to murder wealthy husband due to ‘venemous hatred’ for him, court hears

Lover threatened wealthy farmer after he suspected affair, prosecution claims

William 'Bill' Taylor was found dead in a river in February after he went missing in June 2018 (Hertfordshire Police)

A farmer’s wife encouraged her lover to murder her wealthy husband because of a shared “venomous hatred” of him, a court has heard.

Angela Taylor and Paul Cannon allegedly plotted for months to kill William “Bill” Taylor, who was last seen at his home of Harkness Hall, Hertfordshire, on 3 June last year.

He had been missing for eight months when a member of the public found his body in a river in February 2019.

Ms Taylor and Mr Cannon both deny murder, arson and an alternative charge of conspiracy to murder.

But prosecutor John Price QC told St Albans Crown Court that the pair “loathed” Mr Taylor.

"The prosecution alleges that Ms Taylor and her lover Mr Cannon together plotted to kill her husband,” Mr Price said. We say they did that over many weeks, indeed for at least four months. It will become apparent, we say, that he and she shared and encouraged each other in a venomous hatred for William Taylor.”

It is also alleged that Ms Taylor persuaded Mr Cannon to pay another man, Gwyn Griffiths, to help him kill Mr Taylor.

Mr Griffiths denies murder and the alternate charge of conspiracy to murder.

The court heard how Mr Cannon started a sexual relationship with Ms Taylor in late 2017 while he lived rent-free at Harkness Hall as a lodger.

Mr Taylor reportedly became “angered and distressed” when he suspected the affair and was shocked when his wife served him a second set of divorce proceedings in March 2018, Mr Price said.

The prosecutor said his opposition to granting a divorce caused “bitter resentments” in Ms Taylor and Mr Cannon.

They allegedly began threatening and harassing Mr Taylor, with Mr Cannon allegedly telling him he would “get it” after confronting them about the affair.

Mr Price said: "Mr Taylor had become over the years the owner of a very substantial farming estate. Despite settling [Ms Taylor’s] financial claims, he was not reconciled to the idea of a divorce and would not agree to it. He made it clear he wanted her back. She was not interested."

Ms Taylor had first filed for divorce in April 2014 and had acquired two nearby farms debt-free, Dog Kennel Farm and Mill Farm, as part of a financial settlement, the court heard.

The court heard that the couple had married in 1997 and had three children together.

Mr Taylor also had a son, Richard, from a previous marriage and the two sides of the family were said to have "strongly disliked each other" for years, Mr Price told jurors.

Several days before he went missing, Mr Taylor's Land Rover had been seriously damaged by fire after an accelerant-soaked towel was set alight inside it, the court heard.

The trial continues.

Agencies contributed to this report