VERDICT: Paul Hemming sentenced to life in prison for murder of partner Natalie

Hemming violently beat mother-of-three Natalie, 31, in the lounge of their home on while the children slept upstairs.

During the trial Hemming claimed his partner died after he hurled a fake Faberge egg at her head which struck her and she hit the coffee table in the lounge.

But the prosecution said that his account was a lie and Hemming had planned killing her as a “punishment for her infidelity”.

Natalie, who had taken Hemming’s name despite not being married to him, died after “repeated blows” from a weapon as she tried to defend herself.

During the trial the jury was told Natalie suffered a skull fracture by her right temple and a broken ulna bone in her left forearm after trying to ward off the blows.

But pathologist Dr Olaf Biedrzycki said it was impossible to give a cause of death because of how decomposed her body was.

Following a night in a hotel with technician Mr Dennis, Natalie sent him a WhatsApp message saying: “What you did for me last night is something I have never had before.”

In another message, just hours before the killing, she said: “I have fallen in love with you.”

When Natalie met Hemming she already had a young daughter from a previous marriage.

She then had a son and daughter with Hemming, who is believed to have worked in the carpet trade, and all three children are under the age of 12.