confess thy sin, & thou shall be set free?

George Maben's "confession" was played to an Old Bailey jury, which found him guilty on Thursday of murdering his girlfriend's wealthy mother.

It was after detectives heard his emotional, whispered words "God, forgive me for what I have done" that they arrested Maben, of Rosehill, Surrey, for strangling Maureen Cosgrove, 65.

Unemployed Maben, 45, had denied murdering Mrs Cosgrove at her home in Southway, Carshalton Beeches, Surrey, on March 24.

Mrs Cosgrove was asphyxiated with a ligature in the kitchen of her £1 million, five-bedroom home after a visit to the dentist.

Maben was the partner of her daughter Lucy Rees, 34, who was expecting his baby.

Judge Jeremy Roberts ordered that Maben, whose family are from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, should serve a minimum of 13 years.

Judge Roberts told him he was reducing the term which might have been expected from a pre-meditated murder because it was out of character and because Maben had been under pressure.

Judge Roberts said Maben was under "enormous pressure" and must have seen no other way to be with the woman he loved and their baby. He added: "It was illustrated by your prayer for forgiveness which was recorded by police."

The judge said he did not want anything he said to be interpreted as criticism of Mrs Cosgrove, who was the innocent victim of the crime. He said: "It was no-one's fault that the situation developed where your relationship with Lucy, whom you loved deeply, and her mother, whom you must have seen as a obstacle, drove you to such an act of desperation."