A spike in homicides in Auckland City is nothing to be worried about says Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, as a new meth capital of the country is crowned and wild weather approcahes.
A UK heiress found dead in a swimming pool was killed by her husband so he could gain access to her $9.4 million estate, a High Court judge in the UK has ruled, blocking him from inheriting it.
During the criminal trial three years ago, jurors were told that McPherson, a property developer, had taken out seven life insurance policies before his wife’s unexpected death. He also stood to benefit substantially from her stake in the family’s construction business.
In June 2017, he arranged for the couple to go on a mini-break to Norre Nebel, a village in the west of Denmark.
But in the days leading up to the trip, Leeson’s family said she seemed preoccupied about something and unhappy at the prospect of going away.
Three days into the trip, the mother of one drowned in the indoor pool of the cottage they had rented. The jury was told that she hated swimming and did not even own a costume.
Donald McPherson has been found to have unlawfully killed his wife Paula Leeson.
Initially, Danish police did not consider that her death was suspicious, but things changed when the authorities began to examine the couple’s finances.
Eventually, McPherson, who was born in New Zealand and whose real name is Alexander James Lang, was charged with murder. But three weeks into the trial at Manchester Crown Court the judge, Justice Goose halted the case and directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict to the murder charge, despite saying it was “likely” that he killed her.
Pathologists found that Leeson suffered bruises on her face and arms, as well as internal bleeding at the back of her neck, but jurors heard the injuries may have been received while being restrained or in a rescue and resuscitation attempt, and accidental death could not be ruled out.
Leeson’s family brought legal proceedings against McPherson – a convicted fraudster – at Manchester Civil Courts of Justice to block him from benefiting from her death and her estate. After hearings earlier this year, Justice Richard Smith ruled on Friday local time that McPherson had killed his wife.
Giving his ruling, he said: “Don deliberately and unlawfully killed Paula by compressing her neck in an armlock, rendering her unconscious and causing her body to enter the pool to ensure her drowning and death. Don’s motive for unlawfully killing Paula Leeson is clear – money.”
Justice Smith said the “critical question” was how Leeson came to be in the water, which was only 1.2m deep, and unable to save herself. He said she must have been unconscious, and the distribution of her neck injuries suggested compression from an armlock by her husband.
He added: “It is no exaggeration to say that lies and dishonesty pervade every aspect of Don’s life. Don lies to anyone if it might serve his interests. I cannot begin to comprehend the pain and heartache that the Leesons have experienced as a result of Paula’s death.”
Her elderly father, Willy Leeson, and brother, Neville, sat with her son, Ben, in court as the judgment was given.
