Susan Whiting: Steven Beards jailed for at least 33 years for rape and murder

Vulnerable Ms Whiting was found dead at Julie Beards' bungalow in Heather Close in Bloxwich on August 18 having visited two days earlier for a sleepover.

Police discovered her half-naked body under a divan bed wrapped in a shower curtain, bound at the hands and feet with a black bag over her head.

She had been drugged with hypnotic sedative Zopiclone, raped by Steven Beards and murdered having been strangled, further suffering three fatal hammer blows to the head which caved in her skull.

Beards was this afternoon jailed for life with a minimum term of 33 years.

High Court Judge Mr Justice Green explained why he had extended Steven's minimum term of imprisonment from 30 years to 33.

It reflected Miss Whiting's vulnerability, her sexual inexperience, the fact she was drugged, because her body was concealed, the degree of pre-planning in the crime and the fact he 'diverted everyone from the truth'.

Describing Steven Beards as a 'sexually motivated and violent killer' the judge also imposed a separate ten-year sentence for the rape conviction which will run concurrently.

Mr Justice Green said: "You have shown not a single trace of remorse for your actions. The only person you have felt sorry for is yourself.

"Throughout this trial you have sought to transfer the whole of the blame to anyone you could think of including some mysterious man and even your wife.

"To the very end when the evidence against you was overwhelming you stuck to your ridiculous story.

"The jury however have read you for what you are - a sexually motivated and violent killer incapable of showing even a drop of sympathy for your victim or her family and friends."

The prosecution case was that Julie Beards acquired the drug from her neighbour Matthew Herbert testing it on him in the weeks leading up the killing of Miss Whiting, 20, of Station Street.

Prosecutors argued Julie Beards had become jealous of her friend who she called 'Sis' spending more time with other people than her.

Steven Beards, 34, formerly of Rowland Avenue but later of no fixed address apart from staying illegally at his wife's bungalow, was convicted of rape and murder after less than four hours of deliberation on Monday.

Today Julie Beards was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury at Leicester Crown Court. She will be sentenced at a later date.

The jury delivered the majority verdict at 11.30am today after more than three days of deliberation, and found the 36-year-old not guilty of murdering the vulnerable student under joint enterprise with her husband.

But they declared they were not likely to agree on a rape charge in relation to Julie and High Court Judge Mr Justice Green discharged them from reaching a verdict on that count.

West Midlands Police welcomed the verdicts, as did her family.

Susan 's mother Maureen Whiting said: "From the moment Susan was reported missing our lives have been turned upside down. Susan 's death is such a tremendous loss to our family.

"She was just 20 years old, an easy-going, loving young lady, enjoying her life. I know she was loved and will be missed by so many people.

"We would like to thank family, friends, the local community and all the professionals who have supported us over the past months. We will honour her life by the way we continue to live ours."

Det Supt Mark Payne said: "We are delighted the jury have come to the verdict they have today. What we know is that Susan Whiting was a trusting and vulnerable young lady who was lured to her death and over the course of the evening a drug was administered to Susan, that she was then raped and then brutally murdered in a really horrible way.

"We are very pleased the jury have found as they have and we hope it will bring some peace to Susan's family."

Det Supt Payne added: "There appears to have been a sexual theme. We know that Susan was raped before she was killed and it is probable that the administration of the drug and subsequent rape of Susan shows that there was quite a strong sexual element to this murder. We will never know (the true intention) of course because we have been told a pack of lies throughout by the defendants."

"What we have seen is a lot of planning that has gone into acquiring the drug and the administration of the drug that we believe led to the rape.

Whether the murder was planned or a spontaneous act because Susan was not acquiescent and resisted or Susan actually was not affected by the drug as expected we will simply never know. What we do know is that as a result of their actions a vulnerable and trusting young lady is dead and the evil brutality of these acts really is shocking."

When it emerged Ms Whiting had gone missing but never left the bungalow after visiting for a sleepover police discovered the body hidden wrapped in a shower curtain under a divan bed and carried out an extensive forensic examination of the property which painted the picture of what happened relatively quickly.

Det Supt Payne said: "We uncovered significant forensic evidence that linked the suspects to the crime. We found some pre-planning in terms of the acquisition of a drug that was administered to Susan and we found that drug had been tested on a neighbour. We then saw quite a lot of effort had gone into covering up this murder. We saw the secretion of Susan's body in a divan bed and really that the evil thought and the planning that had gone into this crime told us everything we needed to know about both Steven and Julie."