Wife-killer is jailed for life
Alan Stead was told by the trial judge that he must serve at least 25 years behind bars before he can apply for parole.
Stead, aged 42, of Loggerheads, killed wife Anita, aged 39, by locking her in a computer room in the garage at their house in Waterhayes and setting the property alight in 2002.
Stead had denied murder during his trial at Stafford Crown Court. He told jurors he believed Anita was responsible for starting the blaze.
Speaking after the verdict, the Crown Prosecution Service described Stead as a cold-blooded killer.
Steve Ash, reviewing lawyer for CPS Staffordshire said: “Stead murdered his wife in a cold-blooded and calculated way because he didn’t want to lose out financially to his wife or loose his children through a divorce.
"The knowledge that his wife was considering divorcing him, the life policy he took out in her name, the recent conversion of the family garage and a change in his shift pattern were all premeditated, and were for one reason: to enable him to kill his wife.
“Stead locked Anita in the converted garage knowing that the locked door was her only means of escaping the fire that he was to set. He entombed her, and once the fire had taken hold he left and stood outside and after he was confident she was beyond rescue, he called the emergency services.
“Our thoughts are with the children of Anita and her family and friends at what must be a terrible time for them. One hopes today’s guilty verdict and that justice has finally been done, can go some way to easing their sense of loss.”
