Jackie Hoadley: Man murdered estranged wife in 'calculated attack'

Jackie Hoadley was a well-known disability rights campaigner

A man has been convicted of murdering his estranged wife in a "calculated" attack.

Raymond Hoadley, 62, broke into Jackie Hoadley's home and carried out a "brutal" assault, police said.

The 58-year-old disability rights campaigner was found dead at her property in Broad Oak Close in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on July 5.

A jury at Hove Crown Court deliberated for less than three hours before returning a guilty verdict.

Sussex Police praised Mrs Hoadley's "commitment to advancing the rights of disabled children", adding that her "memory lives on through her devoted children and family".

Hoadley believed he had planned the murder "with sufficient depth" to avoid conviction, police say

On July 4, her estranged husband climbed over a garden fence and broke into the home, before subjecting her to a "brutal and calculated attack," police said.

Det Ch Insp Andy Wolstenholme said Hoadley "believed that he had planned his crime with sufficient depth, hiding his lies within elements of truth with enough plausibility to conceal his guilt".

However, a "meticulous" trawl through hours of CCTV and a large amount of forensic evidence have provide his guilt, Mr Wolstenholme added.

Hoadley, of Willowfield Road, Eastbourne, will be sentenced on 22 February.