Teacher guilty of murdering fiancee

The house in Holmfirth where the body of Marie Stewart was found in a suitcase in the garage
12 April 2012

A philandering music teacher who led a double life while dating a string of women has been found guilty of the brutal murder of his fiancee.

Andrew Lindo, 29, strangled, battered and stabbed Marie Stewart to death before storing her body in a flight bag in the garage. He will be sentenced tomorrow.

Hours after killing Miss Stewart, Lindo put their two young children in his car and went to collect his latest lover, Angela Rylance.

A jury at Bradford Crown Court heard how an unwitting Miss Rylance spent the night with Lindo in the bedroom where the fatal attack took place and two floors above the garage where Miss Stewart's body was hidden.

It rejected his claim that he lost control following a row with Miss Stewart, during which he accused her of mistreating their young daughter.

Miss Stewart, 30, described as a caring and devoted mother who worked with disabled children, was set upon by Lindo while their two children were asleep in the house in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire.

Lindo - described as an "inveterate and accomplished liar" - had been living a double life, having affairs with a number of women. There was also an allegation he was involved with a 15-year-old girl.

The jury was told Lindo admitted killing his partner but denied murder.

He did not give evidence from the witness box but described to police how he first strangled Miss Stewart and then, when she was still making noises, hit her with a child's chair and tried to choke her with a belt. He dragged her down to the basement garage in a suitcase and finally killed her by stabbing her 12 times with a kitchen knife.

The court heard he then stored her body in a flight bag in the garage of their town house on Perseverance Place, Holmfirth. The body was found on February 13 after friends and family became suspicious of Lindo's claims that she had moved abroad for another man and alerted the police.

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