Man who beat wife's lover to death guilty of murder after retrial

Neil Roberts was found dead at Ian Anderson's home on 1 December 2013

A man who beat his wife's lover to death in a fight in his home on the Isle of Man has been found guilty of murder after a retrial.

Ian Anderson, 55, killed 60-year-old Neil Roberts at the cottage in Queen Street in Castletown in late 2013.

He had denied murdering the older man, who was found with more than 40 injuries, claiming it was manslaughter.

Anderson will be sentenced at Douglas Courthouse on Thursday.

The jury had been told to decide whether Mr Anderson was guilty of murder, or of manslaughter by reason of provocation or diminished responsibility.

At the start of the trial, Deemster Graeme Cook told the court a retrial was needed as a previous conviction had been quashed on appeal because psychiatric evidence was not properly put before the original jury.

Ian Anderson was first found guilty of murder in 2015 but the conviction was quashed on appeal

Deemster Cook said it had been a "short case, but one of the utmost gravity" after the jury delivered a unanimous verdict at Douglas Courthouse.

Over the course of the trial, the court heard Anderson had beat Mr Roberts to death while in the presence of his wife at about midnight between 30 November and 1 December.

Mr Roberts had been having an affair with Anderson's wife during 2013, but claimed the 55-year-old was imagining it when confronted by him about it.

Ian Anderson killed Neil Roberts at his home in Castletown

Giving evidence, a pathologist said parts of Mr Roberts' body were struck with considerable force, likely to have been caused by being stamped or jumped on while he was on the ground.

Anderson told the court that the older man had started the fight after he told the lovers that they could "go be together, but not in my house".

He said Mr Roberts continued to attack him and he "just lost it" while he was consumed by jealousy.

The court also heard a psychiatrist had diagnosed Anderson with "unstable emotional personality disorder", which affected his ability to take responsibility for his actions.

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