He had affairs with housewives he met at seances
March 05, 2009
SHE was an Emmy-award winning make-up artist for her work on 2000 TV mini-series Arabian Nights.
He was a 'spiritualist'.
Mrs Diane Chenery-Wickens fate was sealed when she met future husband David at a tarot card reading and fell in love. They married in 1997.
Unknown to her, Chenery-Wickens was obsessed with sex and money. Throughout their marriage, he had a string of affairs, reported the Times.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Emmy winner murdered by 'spiritualist' husband
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comments:
Mrs Chenery-Wickens, 48, has worked on British TV shows Pride And Prejudice and The League Of Gentlemen. She was nominated for a Bafta for the series Dead Ringers.
That all came crashing down last year when she found out the truth about her husband.
When she confronted him over his affairs with trusting housewives he met at seances, he murdered her and dumped the body in some woods close to the steam railway where he was a volunteer.
Yesterday, he was jailed for life by a British court.
The court heard that the very day Chenery-Wickens killed his wife, he sold her jewellery and went shopping with his favourite girlfriend.
On the same day, he lied to the police that his wife disappeared during a joint trip to London. London CCTV cameras showed this was not the case.
Hours after his false claim to police, the bisexual member of the United Spiritualist Church invited a man to his house for sex, the court heard.
He also tried to destroy his wife's reputation by claiming that she was the one who had numerous affairs.
He also implied she killed herself because she was ashamed of her infidelities.
With his clerical collar and gentle voice, Chenery-Wickens inspired trust in lonely women, reported the Daily Mail.
His mostly middle-aged, middle-class clients were delighted at the attention he gave to their problems as he read tarot cards at £40 ($87) a time and passed on what he claimed were messages from the dead.
Over the years, countless women had passionate affairs with him. Some lent him thousands for alternative therapies involving 'snake venom' and he promised repayment once his marital home was sold.
One woman, Kerry Lippett, 40, kicked her husband out of the family home after Chenery-Wickens told her he could pass on messages from her dead mother.
She became his 'principal girlfriend' and they talked of a wedding once his divorce was through.
At the Lavender Line, where Chenery-Wickens was a volunteer, colleagues called him The Vicar of Fibley because of his constant lies.
In 2004, he had an affair with Ms Sally Lyon, 49, landlady of his local pub, the Foresters Arms. He sent her a love poem, which her husband found, and they began having sex after she initiated a divorce.
For four years, Chenery-Wickens also had sex with a married osteopath from Tunbridge Wells in the woods and at his home when his wife was away.
The affair cooled after he suggested a threesome, but he SMSed her asking for sex the day before murdering his wife, and again hours after reporting her missing.
How she found out
In January last year, Mrs Chenery-Wickens went through their phone bill and found out the truth.
Calling one of the numbers he had repeatedly used, she found it belonged to one of his lovers. Another turned out to be a gay chat line.
When she confronted him, it is believed her husband either strangled or stabbed her.
His conviction was secured with the help of MrsLippett, who told police that just before he reported his wife missing, he phoned asking advice on removing blood stains from his carpet.
Believing his claim that the stains were the result of a nosebleed, she advised him to rub in salt. She moved in with him and it was only after his wife's body was found that she realised what sort of person he was.
At end of the trial, the judge told Chenery-Wickens: 'The evidence shows Diane loved you, but you deceived her over many years, engaging in sexual activities with vulnerable women who mostly came to you for help with their relationships in your capacity as a spiritualist minister.'
Post a Comment