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| Darren and Maria Byrne |
A stockbroker who was angry that his wife found out he was having an affair, decided to burn her alive, according to police in the United Kingdom.
Essex police said that the man who killed his wife and then attempted to burn their house down to cover up what he had done, has been convicted of murder.
According to the criminal complaint, 40-year-old Darren Byrne assaulted 35-year-old Maria Byrne, during an argument after she discovered that he had rekindled an affair with another woman.
He then set her on fire by using alcohol. He then turned on the gas in the kitchen of their home in Morgan Crescent. Darren then called police, claiming that he had come home from walking their dog to find her on fire in the kitchen.
When paramedics arrived, they found Maria lying on the floor with severe burns to her upper body and face. She was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Police then launched an investigation to establish how she died.
Darren told officers that they had spent the day together at home while their two young children were staying with grandparents.
He claimed to have then gone out at 2:40 p.m., to walk their dog and returned home at about 3:30 p.m. to the smell of gas and the smoke alarm ringing.
He told police that he found his wife in the kitchen and called for an ambulance. He was instructed to give her CPR until help arrived.
However, during the course of the investigation, officers discovered that Darren had an affair the previous summer.
When Maria found out, she no longer trusted him and would check on his whereabouts, and messages on his mobile phone and email.
She discovered that her husband had rekindled the affair on the day she was murdered. She learned that her husband had a second mobile phone, which he used to contact his mistress.
Darren was arrested after a post mortem examination showed an accelerant had been used and that Maria had been assaulted or restrained.
Surveillance videos also showed that he had walked their dog an hour earlier than he had claimed. Darren has not shown any remorse.
Maria’s mother Linda Biggs, described what Darren did to her daughter as “beyond any human comprehension.”
She said: “Eight years ago, we entrusted Maria, the most precious thing we had, to Darren. We loved him and treated him like our own son. This person, instead of loving and protecting her, took her life in the most degrading way.”
