Emma Ward: In Memoriam (Died March 2010)

Emma Ward (21) was killed by her husband Nicky Ward (29) in March 2010. ,

On 12th April 2011 unemployed Ward was convicted of murdering Emma, a pub waitress,  at the home they shared in Rockland St Peter, Norfolk. The court found that he murdered his wife then dismembered her with an electric saw and hid her remains. Judge Peter Jacobs imposed a mandatory life term and said Ward could not be considered for parole until he had spent 22 years in jail.

Jurors were told that relatives raised the alarm after Emma vanished in late March 2010.

Detectives said no trace of Emma’s body had been found. Ward, who was described as a “cynical and cruel” killer, denied murder, telling jurors he killed his wife accidentally in self-defence during a row. He said he had no memory of dismembering her or of disposing of her remains.

Ward had previously told police that his wife had left him for another man but forensic investigations revealed that she had been killed in a bedroom, then dragged to the bathroom and cut up with a £55 saw bought in a local hardware store.

Inquiries showed that Ward had cleaned carpets and repainted – but not realised that his wife’s blood had seeped through to floorboards and left a trail for scientists to follow. The judge said the amount of blood found suggested that Ward had attacked his wife with a “sharp instrument”. He said “What happened after that was truly dreadful….. You embarked upon a cynical and cruel effort to cover your tracks.”

Jurors were told how evidence suggested that the Wards’ marriage had broken down.

Emma Ward is survived by her parents David and Elaine Noonan, who live in Rockland All Saints, Norfolk. Her father said: “I cannot begin to imagine the pain and terror Emma must have felt. It is so unbearable to think about”. He added: “We have not been able to grieve for Emma because we do not know where she is. If Nick Ward has any remorse he must do the decent thing and tell us where he has put our daughter.”

(compiled from reports in the Independent newspaper 12.4.11.)