Wife killer who stuffed body of new bride into suitcase to get life sentence for her murder

Following a trial at Bradford Crown Court the jury took four hours to return a unanimous guilty verdict on the murder charge and the 46-year-old is expected to be sentenced on August 19.

Judge Jonathan Rose adjourned the sentence hearing until next week so he could hear submissions from counsel before deciding on the minimum term that Nutt will serve before he can even apply for release to the Parole Board.

There were cheers from the public gallery as the guilty verdict was returned and Nutt shouted an expletive as he was taken back into custody.

Nutt admitted manslaughter before the trial began, but he denied murdering the 52-year-old grandmother claiming he had been trying to restrain her during a row at their home in Shirley Grove last October.

The prosecution alleged that Nutt strangle Ms Walker either on the night of the couple’s wedding or the next morning and he eventually handed himself in to police four days later after carrying out a “ghastly charade” which included pretending to look for his “missing wife” even though her body was being stored in the house.

The murder trial jury heard from Nutt’s previous partner who had described him as a Jekyll and Hyde character who had assaulted her.

The two women had exchanged messages in 2020 during which Ms Walker had said that Nutt “scared the hell out of me”.

In one exchange Ms Walker said Nutt had “nearly killed her” and had tried to suffocate her.

The jury saw CCTV footage which showed Nutt dragging the suitcase containing his wife’s body through the back garden before dumping it in nearby undergrowth.

He then returned to the house just as a police officer arrived to make inquiries about his “missing person” report.