Eight years for killing Scots mum

A RETIRED schoolmaster who killed a Scots mum and buried her in his back garden 20 years ago has been jailed for more than eight years.

Cariad Anderson-slater, from Elgin, Morayshire, disappeared from the home she shared with her English husband David Slater in Perth, Australia, on July 12 1992.

The Supreme Court in Perth heard that Ronald Pennington (82) killed her the same day in a drunken rage and then hid her body in his garden, with her remains only found by renovation workers last year.

He evaded justice for so long by blaming the crime on her husband David, who was the chief suspect for many years, and was only caught after a cold case review was carried out on her death.

Justice John Mckechnie jailed Pennington, who was convicted of manslaughter and concealing her body after being cleared of a charge of murder, for eight years and six months.

Pennington is to appeal his conviction, but the judge said he “entirely” agreed with the jury’s verdict, and criticised Pennington for trying to frame her husband from the “get-go”.

He said: “He did it, he has always known that he did it but his instructions were to make a considerable attack on an innocent man.”

The judge also criticised the original police investigation for focusing on Mr Slater. He said: “The police investigation in 2011 seems to be very thorough and competent. Neither of those words can be used in 1992.”

Pennington’s lawyer Linda Black said Pennington would be “very lonely prison”, and would likely die in jail.

Mrs Anderson-slater’s daughter, Dr Melanie Maceachen, had travelled from Aberdeen to give evidence and said she will remember her mother as the “vivacious, warm, loving person that she was”.

She said: “Nobody deserves this to happen to them and Pennington has outlived double the length of life that she had.”

Dr Maceachen said she hoped to bury her mother in Scotland now the case was resolved.

Mrs Anderson-slater had met her husband in the north-east of Scotland two years before moving to marry in Australia.

They had recently moved to the Perth suburb so Mr Slater could pursue his career in marketing chemicals.

Pennington had been a volunteer at an art gallery when he met Mrs Anderson-slater and her second husband Mr Slater. The three of them became friends.

On the night she disappeared, the married couple had gone to Pennington’s home, but he was drunk and angry. The married couple went home, but had an argument.

Mr Slater went for a drive, while Mrs Anderson-slater went to a neighbour’s before she got a taxi to Pennington’s house. That was when she was last seen alive.

Mr Slater said he believed his wife, who he described as “a beautiful person and good companion”, had gone on a drinking binge and would return.

Pennington, who the court heard may have been in an affair with Mrs AndersonSlater, denied any involvement in her death and his lawyers argued Mr Slater was a much more likely killer.

In closing arguments, the defence said

in there was not enough evidence to find Pennington guilty and it was more likely Mr Slater killed his wife because their relationship was in trouble.

Defence lawyer Linda Black argued that Mr Slater behaved in an extremely odd way after she disappeared, changing his will and telling workmates he believed his wife was dead.

Pennington said in a police interview he believed Mr Slater had set him up, and hadn’t let Mrs Anderson-slater into his house that night.

But, the prosecution said the notion Mr Slater killed his wife and buried her in Pennington’s backyard without anyone’s knowledge was ridiculous and defied reason.

The jury convicted Pennington of the lesser charge after 5 hours of deliberation.

The cause of her death remains unknown.

Cariad Anderson-slater.