Canterbury woman convicted of murdering her husband and burying his body in their garden
She claimed he had gone to Saudi Arabia to work and died there, but police found no record of him having left the country
A Canterbury woman has been convicted of murdering her husband and hiding his body in their garden.
Jeremy Rickards, who was 65, was found dead behind the property in St Martin's Road on 11 July 2024.
Police launched a search for Jeremy after he was reported missing by a family member on 5 July.
Maureen Rickards claimed he had gone to Saudi Arabia to work and died there, but police found no record of him having left the country.
Analysis of his mobile phone showed he had last topped it up on 8 June, which was the last record of him having been alive.
The missing person enquiries also looked into the use of the victim’s bank card, and found CCTV of Maureen Rickards using it in shops between 20 and 30 June.
She was arrested for fraud on 11 July and police carried out a search of the property, finding Jeremy Rickards' body in the garden.
He was found to have suffered five stab wounds to his chest, as well as non-fatal injuries sustained around 10 days before his death, and others thought to have been inflicted at least five weeks earlier.
Maureen Rickards was then arrested on suspicion of murder and a homicide investigation was launched, with detectives working to build up a picture of the couple's relationship in the previous weeks and months.
The investigation found that, on 17 May, Jeremy Rickards had been seen with bruising to his face in a pub in Canterbury and had told a member of staff he had been in a car accident.
Video clips found on Maureen Rickards' phone dating from the end of May and the beginning of June showed her shouting at her husband and recorded the sounds of her beating him.
He had briefly moved out of their home in early June and had been seen with numerous injuries at the property he stayed in.
Based on the information from the pathologist and the last sighting, detectives believe Maureen Rickards murdered her husband on or around 9 June.
This was also the date of his death which Maureen Rickards had given in a message to a relative as she attempted to cover up her involvement.
Crime scene investigation work suggested the victim's body had been stored in a cupboard in the flat before being moved to the garden.
Gardeners had visited the property on 26 June and Maureen Rickards had asked them to leave the grass they had cut under some bushes.
It was here where Jeremy Rickards' body was later found.
Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Colin McKeen said:
'This was a horrific murder of a man who we believe had been a supportive husband to his wife, despite her violence towards him.
Sadly, our investigation suggests that, rather than being a one-off incident, Maureen Rickards had attacked her husband on a number of occasions before this fatal assault.
She has never expressed any remorse for what she did and has repeatedly sought to frustrate the investigation and push blame onto others, including the victim himself.
The jury has seen through her lies and she will now spend many years in prison.
This case shows that domestic abuse, whether committed by a man or a woman, can escalate and become fatal and I urge anyone who is experiencing violence at the hands of their partner to report it to the police.
We will listen to you, support you, and take action to protect you from harm.'