A mortgage adviser from Cambridgeshire has been found guilty of murdering his wife so he could claim her life insurance pay off his debts.
Robert Hammond, known as James, murdered his wife Sian Hammond, at their home in Primes Corner, Histon, near Cambridge, on October 29, 2023. He strangled her to death.
During the trial at Cambridge Crown Court, it was heard that Hammond had growing debts of more than £300,000 and had spent months lying and creating excuses to delay payments to HMRC and a financial company.
The life cover was worth £450,000, and after his wife's death, the 47-year-old told one company he would be able to pay off the debt.
The day after murdering Sian, 46, Hammond called the police at 2am claiming that he'd found her not breathing. He'd always denied any wrongdoing.
He was arrested for murder on November 10, but maintained that he hadn't harmed her.
The court heard that Hammond had been putting off paying his debts by making claims that he had cancer and was getting a divorce.
Days before Sian was murdered, Hammond called her life insurance policy and made a payment to reinstate the policy.
On the day of the murder, Hammond and Sian had spent the day together shopping and using their home gym.
Their home CCTV showed that no other person had entered or left the house that night and there was no suggestion of third party involved.
Sian Hammond was described as 'one of the friendliest people you could have the pleasure of meeting'. (Image: Police)
Today (July 17), at Cambridge Crown Court, a jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict on a charge of murder. Hammond will be sentenced on 23 July.
Detective Inspector Richard Stott, from the Beds, Cambs and Herts Major Crime Unit, said it was an unusual case because suspicions were not raised until a coroner’s post-mortem examination on November 3, which identified concerning injuries.
A forensic post-mortem a week later concluded the cause of death was compression of the neck.
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DI Stott said: "The pathology played a key part in this investigation, and this started to show how Mr Hammond had lied about how his wife had died.
"Once the investigation progressed it showed Hammond to be a competent liar and the large debts and financial pressures, he was under became clear.
"His greed and fear of losing his public standing led to him murdering his wife to benefit from her life insurance and to continue to hide his debt and lies.
"Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of Sian; she was a loved and well-liked person and an active and successful businesswoman."
Sian’s family previously released this statement: "Everyone that knew her would agree Sian was one of the friendliest people you could have the pleasure of meeting, and she will be sorely missed by many."
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