Woman jailed after trying to persuade men to kill her ex
AMOTHER has been jailed for soliciting the murder of her exhusband after she lost custody of a child.
Victoria Breeden, 39, tried to persuade three different men to murder Rob Parkes between 2014 and 2019.
She was convicted at an earlier trial at Chelmsford Crown Court of three counts of soliciting his murder and was jailed for nine years and six months yesterday at the same court.
Breeden met Mr Parkes at university in 1999 and they married in 2004.
But the couple separated in 2008 and Mr Parkes was granted custody of a child in 2014 following proceedings in the family courts.
Mr Justice Chamberlain, sentencing Breeden, said: “The evidence demonstrates that your main motivation in trying to persuade others to kill Rob Parkes was to regain custody of (a child). It must be obvious to you now that that can’t happen.”
The defendant, of Black Horse Drove near Littleport, Cambridgeshire,
appeared by video-link from Peterborough Prison and bowed her head as the judge sentenced her.
She was convicted at trial of endeavouring to persuade thenneighbour Hamish Lowry-Martin to murder Mr Parkes between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014.
She was also found guilty of endeavouring to persuade former boyfriend Graham Wall to murder Mr Parkes between October 19, 2018, and October 3, 2019.
Breeden was also convicted of trying to persuade friend Earl Gernon to murder Mr Parkes on October 1, 2019.
A recording of Breeden’s conversation with Mr Gernon was made on Mr Wall’s mobile phone, as Mr Wall had suspected that Breeden was being unfaithful and left the device hidden on the record setting.
Mr Justice Chamberlain said of the recording of Breeden’s conversation with Mr Gernon: “The discussion you (Breeden) had was detailed, it included the way in which the murder could be done and costs of different methods.
“You handed Earl Gernon Rob’s address and you had a large sum of money you could have used for the killing.”
He told Breeden: “You were only thwarted because Gernon did not do what you wanted, or at least had not done so by the time police got involved.”
Daniel Taylor, prosecuting, said: “The Crown say that this offending was persistent, planned and ultimately motivated by a desire to gain custody (of a child).”
He said that Mr Lowry-Martin and Mr Gernon were offered a “financial incentive to carry out those instructions” and that Breeden had £18,000 in cash.
Matthew Jewell QC, mitigating, said that two of the men “made it pretty clear they were going to have nothing to do with it”.
Mr Jewell said Breeden has mental health issues but no conclusive diagnosis.