Rejected wife gets life for murdering love rival

A spurned wife was given a life sentence today after being found guilty of murdering her love rival.

Mother-of-two Rena Salmon, 43, of Great Shefford, Berks, UK admitted killing pregnant Lorna Stewart, 36, by shooting her twice with a double-barrelled shotgun at her beauty salon in September last year.

The jury rejected her claim that she did not know what she was doing when she shot Miss Stewart.

Prosecuting counsel Peter Clarke QC disclosed to the jury after they returned their verdict that Miss Stewart was two months pregnant when her love rival shot her.

Judge Neil Denison told Salmon: “You know that there is only one sentence I can pass for the offence of murder – that is the one I do pass: life.”

Salmon, who was wearing a knitted white jumper, began to shake and the colour drained from her face as she was led away from the dock holding on to the guard.

Salmon shot Miss Stewart twice at close-range after she marched into Miss Stewart’s beauty salon in Chiswick High Road, west London, on September 10 last year in a fit of “anger and revenge”.

Miss Stewart had left her husband Keith Rodrigues to set up home in Iver, Bucks, with IT consultant Paul Salmon.

Three days before the killing, Salmon said Miss Stewart told her they were planning a marriage ceremony and intended to have children.

Salmon, who served in the Army for 10 years and was trained in using guns, remained calm during the shooting.

She then made a “chilling” telephone call for an ambulance, saying: “I have shot my husband’s mistress.”

The defence had urged the jury of two women and ten men to clear her of murder and find her guilty of manslaughter.

Salmon told the court she had gone to the salon to shoot herself because no one would go to a salon where someone had “blown their brains out”.

The court heard that the Salmons had become friends with Miss Stewart and her husband because their children attended the same village school.

But in January last year Mr Rodrigues told Salmon that their spouses were having an affair.

The jury took four hours to reach the verdict.

Mr Rodrigues sat at the side of the court holding the hand of Miss Stewart’s father James.

As the foreman of the jury said “guilty” in a loud clear voice, Mr Rodrigues closed his eyes.

Earlier Salmon had glanced towards him as she was led into the dock by a female dock officer.

Judge Denison said that when he makes his recommendation to the Home Secretary on the length of time she must serve in prison before being considered for parole, he would take into account all the points her counsel, Patrick Curran QC, had put before him.

Mr Curran, for Salmon, had told the judge: “She knows there is only one sentence you can pass.”

But he asked him to consider six points when sending his recommendation to the Home Secretary.

“She has professed profound and genuine remorse for the death. Whatever length of sentence, it will not make up for the loss to Mr Rodrigues and his family.”

After the jury left the court, Mr Rodrigues and Mr Stewart, whose home is in Rutherglen near Glasgow, remained in their seats. Mr Rodrigues wiped tears from his eyes.

Salmon’s brother, Shah Uddin, left the court, his eyes wet with tears.

Outside court Detective Inspector Steve Morris said: “This whole episode has been a tragedy for all the families concerned and the impact on them cannot be overstated.

“After all, we have four children of school age without a mother.”

But he added: “I believe that the jury has come to the right decision.

“This murder was planned and had been for some days.

“Rena Salmon went to Lorna’s beauty salon in Chiswick on September 10 to kill her estranged husband’s partner.

“She gave her no opportunity to save herself and gave no thought to the welfare of Lorna’s children.

“The court accepted that Salmon may have had a disturbed childhood – but it was wrong of her to use this as a defence for the premeditated and cold-blooded murder of Lorna Stewart.”

Salmon’s solicitor Tan Ikram visited her in the cells and said: “She is strong.

“Her main concern is for the families who have been touched by this tragedy.

“Everyone has been through a lot in this case and she has never disputed what she did.”

Mr Ikram said Salmon was considering appealing against the verdict.

He said: “We believe that this is a case where the verdict should have been one of guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.”

He said the jury had rejected the opinions of four psychiatrists in favour of one prosecution psychiatrist who interviewed her six months after the killing.

Mr Ikram added that this had been a tragedy for both families.

He said: “She had overcome in a commendable way real adversity in her early life.”

Salmon had served her country during her time in the army – she had served in Northern Ireland and abroad.

She had then worked in the community and at a women’s refuge.

There were her children “for whom she made every effort to give a happy home”.

She was acknowledged to have suffered real problems with acute depression.

Finally, he asserted that what began the unfortunate sequence of events was not of the defendant’s making.