Life For Gardening Murderer

A gardener has been jailed for life after being found guilty of the murder of 54-year-old Lynda Casey from Coulsdon in Surrey.

Ms Casey's body was found by police search teams in an area of Banstead Woods in Surrey known as Great Solom’s Wood on 13 August 2009. A post mortem examination showed she had suffered multiple head injuries.

Peter Ling, 50, of Taylor Road, Wallington, was arrested on the A39 in Somerset the next day.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder but was convicted at the Old Bailey on Friday following a two-week trial.

Ms Casey, who taught at an adult education centre, was married but had been estranged from her second husband for a number of years.

Ling had been married for more than twenty years and worked as a self-employed gardener.

Both he and Ms Casey were members of the Royal Horticultural Society and had been seeing each other for around three years after meeting at gardening evening classes in 2005.

However by August 2009 their relationship was breaking down. Ling had recently become aware Lynda was seeing someone else after gaining access to her personal email account.

He confronted her about it during a walk at the RHS garden at Wisley on Saturday 1 August.

They rowed and Ms Casey later told a friend and one of her daughters she was concerned about breaking things off with Ling.

During the following week Ling sent her a number of text messages and eventually persuaded her to meet him again.

At lunchtime on Saturday 8 August they met in the car park at The Ramblers Rest pub in Chipstead. They went for a walk in nearby Banstead Woods during which, Ling forced Ms Casey into a secluded area of woodland, picked up a lump of rock and attacked her striking her numerous times about the face and head.

He then dragged her body into some undergrowth and covered her with leaves before returning to the pub car park.

Using Ms Casey's car keys, Ling moved her blue Vauxhall Corsa and abandoned it in woodland along nearby Park Road in Banstead before going back to the pub and leaving in the van he used for his gardening business.

Lynda, who has three daughters from her first marriage, was reported missing by family members.

As part of the investigation into her disappearance, Ling was contacted by police but initially denied meeting her on 8 August. He later called police and told them he thought she was dead. Detectives were able to trace his whereabouts and he was arrested on the A39 in Somerset on August 12.

Lynda’s body was found by police search teams early the following morning.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Raymer, of Surrey Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team, said: "Ms Casey no longer wanted any kind of relationship with Peter Ling and, knowing this, he lured her to a secluded location and murdered her using brute force. There can be no justification for the savagery of the attack she suffered.

"By pleading not guilty to her murder he has put her family through the additional ordeal of a trial. Our thoughts are with them and all of those whose lives have been affected by Lynda’s death."

Ling was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 18 years.

(PR/GK)