Peter Ling, a 50-year-old gardener from Wallington, Surrey, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 18 years for the murder of his lover, horticulture lecturer Linda Casey, 54. The attack took place in Banstead Woods after the couple had sex, during which Ling smashed Casey's head and face repeatedly with a rock.
During the trial at the Old Bailey, Ling claimed he was provoked after Casey said, 'You are not big enough for me.' He described losing control, comparing himself to 'a pressure cooker waiting to go off.' However, Judge Giles Forrester dismissed this, describing Ling as 'jealous beyond measure' after discovering Casey was seeing another man.
The court heard that Ling left Casey alive but drove off after finding sexually graphic footage of her with another man on her mobile phone. Her partly decomposed body was found five days later, with her clothes neatly folded in a tree. Judge Forrester criticised Ling's actions as 'heartless, devious and manipulative,' noting he hid the body under leaves and stole her phone.
Ling, who was married, had been having an affair with Casey for two years after meeting her at evening classes. On the night of the murder, he took his wife out to dinner. In a victim impact statement, Casey's daughter Charlotte Evans described her mother as 'the rock and foundation of our family,' adding, 'She was young and had so much to live for.'
Ling initially denied murder, claiming manslaughter, but was found guilty. He showed no emotion as the verdict was announced, despite having sobbed uncontrollably during the trial.
