Kevin Kennedy death: 'Love rival' guilty of murder

Despite several searches, police have never found all of Kevin Kennedy's remains

A Nottingham man has found guilty of killing and dismembering a love rival.

The headless and armless body of 50-year-old Kevin Kennedy was found in a shallow grave in Sneinton, Nottingham, on 8 August.

Peter Healy, 51, from Sneinton, was convicted of murder in a unanimous verdict at Nottingham Crown Court.

Healy was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice. Mr Kennedy's girlfriend Tara Swift, 40, of Leicester, was cleared of murder.

'Take him out'

However, Swift, who is Healy's former partner, was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

The jury heard that Healy wrote in a letter he would "take out" Mr Kennedy when released from prison.

In a letter to his son's partner, Healy said: "Have I got things to sort? Pass a message on for me. Tell that Kevin I know what's what...

"I'll be back to take him out," he wrote later on in the letter.

Mr Kennedy was killed less than two weeks after Healey was released from jail on 4 July.

Swift, who claimed to have been a "helpless bystander" to a fight between the pair, was seen with Healy on CCTV in the days after the attack and did not go to the authorities.

Mr Kennedy's missing body parts have never been recovered.

Healy had told the court he had been attacked by Mr Kennedy and stabbed in the hand.

He claimed he punched Mr Kennedy four times before leaving with Swift.

However, Karen Blower, a friend of Healy, told the jury that he had said to her: "I really hurt him. I killed him, chopped him up and buried him."

The pair will be sentenced on Monday.