Murder trial has 'many of the trappings of a novel'

A man murdered his wealthy wife in Zimbabwe and then passed her death off as suicide in an elaborate plot with “many of the trappings of a novel”, a court heard today.

Michael Bamford, aged 51, of Littleborough, Greater Manchester, is accused of shooting his wife, Ivy Sutcliffe, aged 61, in the head at their luxury home in Harare in 2004. He denies the murder charge.