Operation Jubilee - Guilty verdict - 10-05-2008

50-year-old Stephen Lay has been found guilty of the murder of Carole Reeves at Winchester Crown Court today, Friday, May 9. He was also sentenced to life in prison of which he must serve a minimum of 15 years before he is eligible for parole.  

Carole was murdered in Basingstoke in May 2007.  

Carole's family have issued the following statement:  

"Much has been made during the trial, especially by the defendant Stephen Lay, that Carole had her problems.  We would like to emphasise that Carole cannot be here to defend herself.  Carole was a loving and caring person.  She was a single mother and had made a very good job of raising her children.  

"This has been a dreadful year for the whole family.  Carole's death and the subsequent murder investigation came as a very severe shock for us all and some aspects of it were very hard to cope with.  For example we were very unhappy with the length of time it took the defence lawyers to instigate the second post mortem on Carole.  This meant that the family were prevented from seeing her body before her long delayed funeral.  It is felt that this delay was totally avoidable and caused unnecessary distress to us all.  

"To make matters worse in August 2007 Carole's father, Raymond Spear died.  He was too ill to attend his daughter's funeral.  Had there been less delay from the defence lawyers then perhaps he would have been able to say goodbye to Carole as he would have wished.  

"As for Stephen Lay, not only did he kill Carole but his cynical actions by pretending to find her body, then living within the family and pretending to grieve for her, demonstrated how self centred this man was and still is.  His only concern was for what he could get out of Carole because he'd made such a mess of his own life.  His selfish attitude did not change throughout his trial as could be seen when he was in the witness box.  

"No sentence can bring Carole back.  By returning this verdict we can be reassured that at least some justice has been achieved for Carole.  The family must now try to move on but we will never forget her.  

"We would like to express our gratitude to Hampshire Police and their support staff for there hard work in bringing Stephen Lay to justice.  

"For the sake of her children we ask that the media respect our privacy and do not approach any member of the family for further comment."      

Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Farrell has issued the following statement:   "Following an almost year long, and very thorough, investigation we feel that justice has been done. Our thoughts are of course with the Carole Reeves' family because although we know they are pleased to see Stephen Lay rightfully found guilty of murder, they will never have Carole back. They will always have to live with the pain that she was taken from them prematurely by the brutal actions of another.  

"I want to thank the family for their support throughout this investigation; it has been an extremely difficult time for them.  

"The verdict and sentence is also testament to the hard work and dedication of the police officers and staff from, amongst others, the major crime and scenes of crime departments.  

"We have also worked closely together with specialist scientists and crown prosecution service to bring this trial to a successful conclusion. This was not an easy case and I am extremely grateful to the team that have brought this man to justice."

www.hampshire.police.uk

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