Anthony Bird jailed for Tracy Kearns manslaughter in Kinmel Bay

Anthony Bird had been with Tracy Kearns for seven years and they had two children together

A builder and part-time barman who strangled his partner after finding out she was having an affair has been jailed for 13 years.

Anthony Bird, 48, was convicted of the manslaughter of Tracy Kearns, the mother of his two daughters.

Bird put Miss Kearns' body in a tree house at their home in Kinmel Bay, Conwy county, before wrapping it in plastic and moving it in a trailer.

A jury at Mold Crown Court had found him not guilty of her murder.

But they convicted him of manslaughter on the basis of a loss of control.

Mr Justice Clive Lewis told Bird he had not shown any remorse for killing Miss Kearns, whose body was found with 40 separate injuries at the back of the bar where she worked.

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"Your emotion and your tears are all for yourself," he said.

"You seem sometimes to see yourself as the victim. But you are not. The victim is Tracy Kearns, the mother of two young children whom you attacked and strangled."

Tracy Kearns was reported missing in May

Both Bird and Miss Kearns worked at Kinmel Bay's Sandy Cove Club, near Rhyl, but their relationship deteriorated and she started a relationship with another man, Andrew Jones.

Bird told the trial he had not intended to kill his partner during a struggle.

'Torn Apart'

Miss Kearn's mother Eileen Jones said her life has been "torn apart" following her daughter's death

"The lives of my beautiful grandchildren, my family and Tracy's friends were all changed forever by the action of her partner Anthony Bird," she said.

"Tracy was a wonderful daughter, an amazing and loving mother and a loyal friend.

"She lived life to the full, was great fun to be with and her personality shone through in everything she did.

"All we have left now are memories and they are something that man cannot take away from us."

Jurors had heard how Bird suggested to his partner that they stay together for the sake of their two young daughters and even spoke amicably to Mr Jones, a regular customer at the club.

But Bird said he wanted to talk to Miss Kearns after she returned home from work but she was never seen alive again.

'Sustained and prolonged'

Prosecuting barrister Ian Unsworth QC said the attack was sustained and prolonged.

Bird told family and friends that she had a new man and had walked out.

When the police were told, Bird put her body into his trailer, covered it with debris and left it behind a high wall at the club.

Bird and Miss Kearns worked at the Sandy Cove Club in Kinmel Bay

After police found the body, Bird changed his story and claimed he had acted in self-defence.

He said that she came at him with a pair of scissors and threatened to kill him, he pushed her back and restrained her by the neck, and she died.

During the trial, Bird broke down in the witness box after saying Miss Kearns' death "was my fault".

He accepted that he repeatedly told lies to people, including the police, when asked about what had happened.

North Wales Police Det Insp Gary Kelly said Miss Kearns' family not only had to come to terms with her death but with "the knowledge that she was taken by someone close to them".

"This was a case of domestic violence at its very worst," he added.