Man jailed for murdering wife for life insurance

Sian Hammond's family say she was "one of the friendliest people you could have the pleasure of meeting."

A mortgage broker has been jailed for a minimum of 24 years for murdering his wife to try to claim money from her life insurance.

Robert Hammond, 47, had about £300,000 worth of debts and strangled Sian Hammond at their home in Histon, near Cambridge, in October 2023.

Hammond denied murder, but jurors found him guilty following a trial at Cambridge Crown Court.

The minimum jail term was part of the mandatory life sentence for what the judge called a "brutal and determined" murder.

Prosecutors said Hammond had a "surging mountain of debt and financial pressures"

Hammond called 999 at about 02:00 GMT on Monday, 30 October and said he had found his wife face down on a bed and not breathing.

He told paramedics he had last seen her alive and well 30 minutes before he contacted the emergency services

In a recording of the 999 call, Hammond is instructed to perform CPR on his wife and he says: "She never sleeps on her front; she’s not moving at all; I’ve been calling her and calling her…"

The trial heard that a paramedic who attended the house, on Prime's Corner, formed the view that no CPR had been carried out.

During sentencing, Mr Justice John Cavanagh said to Hammond: "You knew Sian was already dead by that point… and in any event you did not want her to survive.

"You gave the impression that you were carrying out CPR to cover up what you had done."

During the days that followed, the judge said Hammond "played the part of a grieving husband" who had "shown no remorse".

'Surging' debts

The court heard Hammond, who was also known as James, looked up ways to kill including trying to find out how much diazepam would cause an overdose.

Prosecutors said his wife would have taken it that weekend because she was scared of flying.

In the end Hammond killed his wife by strangling her after they had spent a normal weekend together.

Prosecutors said the murderer, who ran Hammond Mortgage Services, had faced a "surging mountain of debt and financial pressures".

He had brought Mrs Hammond's life insurance policy up to date days before her death and it was worth £450,000.

Police said they discovered he had been putting off paying debts to HMRC and a financial company by making claims he had cancer and was getting a divorce.

Paramedics found Sian Hammond's body at the house in Prime's Corner, off Cottenham Road

'Loving wife'

The judge said Hammond's assault had been "brutal and determined".

Addressing the killer, he said: "You were under very great financial pressure and you saw that the comfortable and successful life that you had built for yourself and your family over many years was at risk of coming crashing down.

"This was a murder that was pre-meditated but not pre-planned."

Mr Justice Cavanagh added that it was clear Mrs Hammond was a lovely person as well as "kind, bubbly and very friendly".

"She was a wonderful mother, devoted to her two daughters, and extremely proud of them."

Directing his comments at Hammond, he added: “She was a loving wife to you.

"Sian’s murder has caused anguish and sadness to many people. As a result of her murder, Sian was deprived of many more years of happy and fulfilling life."

Daughters blew kisses

The family’s teenage daughters were in court for the sentencing, supported by other relatives.

In mitigation, defence counsel Karim Khalil KC said there was "not a significant degree of pre-planning" and the daughters had "implored" the judge to keep the sentence "to the minimum".

The daughters sat in the front row of the public gallery but could not see their father during proceedings because of the frosted glass on the side of the dock.

However, during breaks when they were able to stand up, Hammond put his hand on his heart and they in return smiled, waved and blew kisses.

They left the court as soon as their father was taken away to start his jail sentence.