'Today the Court confirmed what we always knew...' Family of millionaire heiress speak out after civil judge rules husband killed her

The family of an heiress found dead in a swimming pool has blasted her husband after the judge in a civil case ruled he unlawfully killed her. Paula Leeson, 47, from Sale, was discovered after drowning in a pool at a remote holiday cottage in Denmark in 2017, a trip booked by her husband Donald McPherson.

McPherson, 51, went on trial accused of his wife's murder, but the case was halted after the judge ruled that despite circumstantial evidence, a jury could not be sure beyond reasonable doubt that he had killed her.

Ms Leeson, whose family run a successful skip and plant hire business in south Manchester where she also worked, married McPherson in 2014. It later emerged that McPherson, labelled in court as a 'man of straw', had taken out multiple secret life insurance policies on his wife before her death, worth £3.5m alone.

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Following the conclusion of the criminal case, the Leeson family launched a civil claim against McPherson to prevent him from benefiting financially from his wife's death. Today (Friday, September 6), following the case at Manchester's Civil Justice Centre, a judge ruled McPherson unlawfully killed his wife.

In criminal trials, juries must convict on the basis of guilt being beyond a reasonable doubt. In civil cases, a finding such as unlawful killing can be returned on the balance of probabilities.

Giving his ruling, Mr Justice Richard Smith said: "Don deliberately and unlawfully killed Paula by compressing her neck in an arm lock rendering her unconscious and causing her body to enter the pool to ensure her drowning and death. Don's motive for unlawfully killing Paula Leeson is clear: money."

He said