Triplets mother cleared of murdering husband

A mother of triplets was today cleared of any part in a murder plot which saw her husband battered to death.

Lesley Ann Gault, 37, wept as she was found not guilty by a majority verdict at Omagh Crown Court in Northern Ireland.

She had been accused of murdering her husband Paul, who was beaten to death by her lover, Gordon Graham in May 2000.

Graham, a senior fire officer, is serving a life sentence for the killing at the Gault’s home in Lisburn, Co Antrim.

Today after a three-week trial Mrs Gault broke down when the jury returned its verdict.

Looking stunned and confused, she had to ask a prison officer for confirmation that she had been cleared of the crime.

She bowed her head and cried before being led from the courtroom.

On her way out she turned to the jury and said: “Thank you.”

The prosecution had alleged Mrs Gault planned the murder with Graham after her husband found out about their two-year affair.

They turned from being lovers to “partners in crime, partners in murder”, the trial heard.

It was claimed that Mrs Gault, from The Rambles in Lisburn, organised for her husband to be alone at their then home in Audley Avenue to be ambushed by Graham.

But she had strenuously denied the allegations, stressing how she wanted to save her marriage after admitting to the affair.

Mrs Gault told the trial how she now loathed the fire chief for taking away her husband and her children’s father.

“I hate him for what he did,” she said during the hearing.

“What Gordon Graham did that day was wicked beyond belief and I had no part in it.”

The murdered man’s relatives, including his father and brother, left the court immediately after the verdict without making any comment.

But the detective heading up the investigation, Superintendent Roy McComb said of them: “I think they bore with considerable dignity the events of today.”

Mr McComb also accepted that the legal process had taken its due course.

Graham, 40, from Ballydowan, Co Down, unsuccessfully appealed against his 20 year jail sentence.

Mr Gault, 33, was attacked with his wife’s old hockey stick just weeks after he found out she had been unfaithful.

But after three trials spanning two years, Mrs Gault has now finally been cleared.

Despite finding Graham guilty by unanimous verdict in November 2002, the jury could not reach a decision on his lover.

She was re-tried and convicted by a majority verdict in March 2003. But in July 2004 the Lord Chief Justice Sir Brian Kerr headed an appeal panel which quashed that outcome and ordered a re-trial.

As he left court, Mr McComb said: “The law does not entitle a further trial after someone has been acquitted.”