Fiona Beal, 50, admitted murdering Nicholas Billingham, 42, whose remains were discovered four months after he was last seen on November 1, 2021.
As part of her cover-up, she sent messages from Mr Billingham's phone and convinced his family that he was safe and well.
Messages
She later invited his mother Yvonne Valentine over for a Christmas drink, a court heard.
In a victim impact statement, Ms Valentine said: "You sat in your front room with me, having a casual chat with me, having a Christmas drink with me and the whole time, you knew that you had killed my son and buried him only feet from where I was sat.
"I now know that Nick will never reply to any of my messages again because you killed him and buried him in the garden, like rubbish. You were exceptionally evil and cruel to send me text messages from my then-murdered son's phone.
This story is from the May 30, 2024 edition of Daily Express.
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This story is from the May 30, 2024 edition of Daily Express.
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