BEXLEYHEATH: Graham Boyne's family speak of their agony over his murder

Maria Boyne, aged 30, was told by Old Bailey Judge Paul Worsley, she would have to serve at least 24 years in prison before being considered for parole.

Boyne, a mother of three, was found guilty on February 27,of stabbing her husband Graham to death at the family home in Parkside Avenue, Barnehurst, on April 24 last year.

At the time of the murder, Boyne was estranged from her husband and was three months pregnant by her younger lover Gary McGinley, 24, of Franklin Avenue, Bexleyheath.

Mr McGinley, a warehouseman with learning difficulties, was cleared by the jury on Monday (March 2)of murdering Mr Boyne.

Both had denied the killing and had blamed each other for the murder.

Mr Boyne’s murder has brought a double tragedy to the family.

Mr Boyne’s father Michael, who found his son’s body covered in blood from 31 stab wounds, collapsed and died during the trial.

In an impact statement read to the court, Mr Boyne senior had said: “The shock of finding my son in this manner, has affected me deeply. “I cannot sleep at night; thoughts keep going through my head.”

Mr Boyne Snr had been attending the trial every day with his wife Joan and daughter Elaine.

But he remained at home on February 23 saying he felt ill.

The family returned later, to find him collapsed.

He died the following day in hospital.

During the trial the jury heard evidence that, in the months leading up to Mr Boyne’s murder Boyne, had told a number of people she wanted her husband dead so she and Mr McGinley could live in the family house.

They were told Boyne had conducted a number of affairs during the marriage, often disappearing for weeks or months, even missing the birthdays of the couple's two young children.

On her behalf it was claimed Boyne, who has a low IQ, had not acted out of wanting her husband's £150,000 house and that she experienced an “emotional firestorm” at the time of the killing.

But the judge told Boyne her 41-year-old husband had been a vulnerable man.

He said: “He was the father of your two young children and long-suffering and forgiving of your repeated infidelities with different men. “And he took you back when you chose to return to him and your children. “But in April 2008, pregnant with your lover's child you decided to get your hands on the family home.

“This was a murder with a view to gain. "You had repeatedly told others that you had intended to get your hands on the house and do whatever it took to achieve that aim.” He said: “You were also motivated by sex and selfishness.”

The judge said Boyne had persuaded McGinley to drive her home after having sex together at a Dartford Holiday Inn.

Judge Worsely said Boyne had used two knives.

After Mr McGinley revealed during the trial that one of the knives was thrown into the Thames at Erith, officers from the Met Police's marine support unit were sent to search the area and recovered it from the muddy foreshore. The second, an ornamental knife, she left in her lover's car.

The judge said: “I'm satisfied that you enticed your husband to go to bed naked on the pretext of sex.”

The judge said: “You rained 31 blows upon his chest and back with that knife.

“At some stage he tried to defend himself.

“You showed him no mercy.”

After the killing, she took her husband's gold chain from around his neck and drove to Southend with Mr McGinley, where she pawned it for £220.

They spent some of the cash on a bed-and-breakfast, went shopping and the rest was given to Mr McGinley. The owner of the bed-and-breakfast had described the pair as “laughing and carefree.”

Police tried to trace Boyne after her husband's body had been found but could not find her.

Their suspicions had been aroused by reports from neighbours who had seen her walking away from the house at 6.30am - three hours before Mr Boyne body was found.

Police claimed she had hoped the body would not be found for sometime and that being in Southend would give her an alibi.

But she became aware that the police were trying to find her, so the couple returned from Southend.

Boyne told the court said she had wanted to go to Mr Boyne's parents' home but they were not in, so she rang her sister and told her Mr Boyne was dead.

Boyne said her sister told her she already knew, and advised Boyne to go to the police.

The court heard that when she was first questioned by the police, she made no mention of Mr McGinley.

She said: "I was protecting Gary because he was the father of my unborn baby and I felt scared."

When interviewed she told police an intruder had got into the house while she was there and murdered her husband.

But she admitted she had not called an ambulance.

Then she retracted the statement and during her trial tried to blame the murder on Mr McGinley.

Judge Worsely, who described Boyne as “scheming and devious” said: “You left Graham's father to discover the bloodied corpse of his son. That was unforgivable.”

He added: “It is thanks only to the love and care of Graham Boyne's mother and father that your two children have not been put with strangers to care for them.

“You have effectively rendered them orphans.”

In Mr Boyne Snr's statement, he had told the judge: “We had to find a lot of courage within ourselves to tell the children their father had been killed and their mummy was in prison with Gary, having been accused of killing him.”

Mr Boyne Snr had said his granddaughter aged eight had ”run round the house and was inconsolable.

“She said she wanted to die so she could be with her daddy.”

His grandson, six, wanted to know if his daddy would ever come back.

Mr Boyne Snr said: "The marriage was on the rocks, but my son thought the world of her, despite her many affairs."

He wrote that his son did not want to finish their marriage.

Mr Boyne's first marriage had ended in divorce after his then wife ran off with his best friend.

Mr Boyne Snr's statement added: "Our lives have been torn apart and the children cannot comprehend how anyone would have wanted to harm their daddy.

"Since that day, we have had to come to terms with the fact that we will never see him or hear his voice again.

"We were very proud of our son.

"He was hardworking, conscientious and very sociable. “As a family we will always be haunted by imagining the last moments of Graham’s life. Did he suffer?”

Family friend Andy Taylor told News Shopper: “The past year has been unbearable for the family.

“Not only have they lost Graham, but also Graham’s father Michael, who found his son stabbed to death.

“This is another shock.

“Both Graham and Michael were such loving people.”

He said the family wanted to pass on their gratitude to Graham’s many friends and wellwishers “ whose support kept them going”.

The family also thanked those who have donated to the Graham Boyne Bereavement Fund in support of his two children.

Detective Inspector Graeme Gwyn, from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said: "This was a savage attack motivated ultimately by the desire of Maria Boyne to live in her former marital home. The cold-hearted murder of Graham has devastated his family and Maria Boyne's actions have left two young children without a father and their mother facing a substantial prison sentence. Throughout the investigation and trial Maria Boyne constructed a self serving and complex web of deceit, which the jury were able to see through in reaching their verdict.”