A police inspector strangled his detective wife after she confronted him over mounting debts, a court has heard.<\/p>\n
Chester Crown Court heard Darren McKie murdered his wife Leanne on the day she discovered he had made an application for a \u00a354,000 loan in her name.<\/p>\n
Mrs McKie’s body was found in Poynton Lake in Cheshire on 29 September.<\/p>\n
Jurors heard the couple, who worked for Greater Manchester Police and had three children, had debts of \u00a3103,000 and had been “living well beyond their means”.<\/p>\n
Nigel Power QC, prosecuting, said Mrs McKie, 39, was found in “shallow water, but she hadn’t drowned. She had been strangled”.<\/p>\n
Mr McKie, 43, denies murder and manslaughter.<\/p>\n
The court heard that 15 loan applications had been made in Mr McKie and his wife’s name on September 22 – a week before her death.<\/p>\n
Mr Power said: “The prosecution say all those applications were made by Mr McKie, made by him without his wife’s knowledge.”<\/p>\n
The court was told that on the morning of her death, Mrs McKie sent her husband a text which read: “You liar. Just got back a loan application with my passport and my name. Wtf.”<\/p>\n
She sent a second message, saying: “I asked you and you promised. Fluent Finance? Who are they? Are we in such a mess? Why again? The kids need clothes and shoes what’s going on?”<\/p>\n
The court heard he told her “please stop doubting me” and “there is nothing to worry about” in replies.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor told jurors that in August 2017 the couple were in debt worth at least \u00a3103,000.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"