John Mearns

A MAN has been jailed for life for murdering his partner at her St Ives home.

John Mearns, 54, of no fixed address had been found guilty of killing Pauline Smith, also 54, following a two-week trial at Cambridge Crown Court.

He was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 14 years by Judge Anthony Bate today (Friday).

The trial heard Mearns had called an ambulance to the home in Gainsborough Drive on October 27 to report he had been stabbed and feared his partner was dead.

A post mortem confirmed she had died as a result of being strangled.

Mearns later changed his story admitting he had stabbed himself but still claimed he had unwittingly caused her death while trying to restrain her and prevent her from attacking him.

Detective Chief Inspector George Barr, who led the investigation, said: “Mearns has taken a mother from her children and this is something they, and their family, will have to live with for the rest of their lives.

“I hope today’s sentence brings them some comfort knowing that justice has been done.”