Millionaire given 25-year sentence for murdering his escort girlfriend
A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE property developer will spend at least 25 years in prison after being given a life sentence for murdering his escort girlfriend.
Peter Morgan, 54, killed Georgina Symonds, 25, at her bungalow in Llanmartin, Newport, after he overheard her plans to blackmail him and leave him.
The father of two paid Ms Symonds, a former burlesque dancer, up to £10,000 per month and allowed her to live rent-free at the £300,000 property.
Newport Crown Court heard Ms Symonds had intimate pictures of Morgan which she threatened to show to his estranged wife and daughters.
The court heard Morgan installed a listening device at his home in south Wales in November 2015.
Morgan, of Llanellen, Abergavenny, had admitted killing Ms Symonds, but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility and loss of control.
Jailing him for life, Mr Justice Garnham said the killing was “premeditated and carefully planned. You must have caused Georgina Symonds significant physical and mental suffering as you strangled her, pausing to speak to her, strangling her again, pausing for her reaction and tightening it again...”