A pensioner has been jailed for six-and-a-half years after being found guilty of killing a Scots expat and burying her remains in his back garden in Australia 23 years ago.
Ronald Pennington, 86, was found guilty of the manslaughter of Cariad Anderson-Slater, whose remains were found in the garden of his former home, after standing trial for a fourth time.
Mrs Anderson-Slater, originally from Elgin, Moray, moved to Australia in 1990 before vanishing two years later, aged 42.
Her whereabouts remained a mystery until her body was discovered in 2011 when workers dug up the garden of Pennington’s former home in Perth, Western Australia.
Pennington was found guilty of the killing in 2012, but his conviction was quashed when a court of appeal found the judge had misdirected the jury.
He was then retried in 2013, but jurors failed to reach a verdict and the case was abandoned.third trial collapsed last year after jurors discussed information about previous trials.
His latest trial at the West Australian Supreme Court heard Mrs Anderson-Slater and her husband David Slater had befriended Pennington after arriving in Perth a couple of months before her disappearance.
Pennington, a retired school teacher and Korean War veteran, denied he had any role in her death and pinned the blame on her husband.
However he was found guilty in July.
Pennington’s laywer Simon Freitag, had submitted that because of his age and ill health his client should receive a suspended jail term, but Judge Justice Michael Corboy said that was not an adequate sentence.
In his sentencing Justice Corboy referred to the “anguish” the victim’s had suffered for more than 20 years by not knowing what had happened to Mrs Anderson-Slater.
He also noted that Pennington’s defence at trial was that Mrs Anderson-Slater was likely killed by her husband, saying he had been forced “to endure the suspicion that surrounded her death for a long time”.
“Any distress he experienced must have been compounded by the accusations you made about him,” Justice Corboy said.
Mrs Anderson Slater’s daughter Melanie MacEachen, a doctor from Aberdeen, was in court for the trial and watched the sentencing from Scotland via video link.
Dr MacEachen told of her relief that her mother’s killer had been brought to justice and condemned Pennington for refusing to admit his guilt.
She said: “I want to say one huge thank you to all of the police, and all of the lawyers who have worked so hard, and for so long on this case.
“So many people in Perth have worked really hard and have been very supportive, and I would just like to thank you all for bringing this man to justice for this crime.”
“To be fair to the 1992 police they have had to come to court and admit what they didn’t do.
“As far as I’m concerned, the difference between them and Pennington is that by coming clean, by telling the truth ultimately they have helped us enormously, and that is one of the reasons why we were able to get this verdict whereas Pennington has never come clean.”
“It’s a very, very long haul for anybody to have to go through this length of time.
“She was a really lovely mum, and she was a great wife as well and she loved her art, she loved animals, I think one of the reasons I’m a doctor is probably because of her.
“She was a very caring person.”
Outside court, Mr Freitag said Pennington still maintained his innocence and would again be lodging an appeal against his conviction.
The trial heard that on the night before the killing, Mrs Anderson-Slater and her husband had dinner with Mr Pennington at his home, but it ended after there was an argument about the Royal family and republicanism.
Mrs Anderson-Slater and her husband then had another argument at their home over her drinking, and she ended up going to the next-door neighbour’s house.
She later telephoned Mr Pennington, caught a taxi to the street where he lived and was never seen again.