Chilling moment killer is found eating Magnum and watching snooker after murdering ex-wife
A KILLER was found eating a Magnum and watching snooker just hours after murdering his ex-wife.
Chilling video shows the moment police arrested Michael Reader for shooting Marion Price dead through the window of her car.
In the bodycam footage, Reader is seen enjoying an ice cream and a gin and tonic at his home in Northampton.
At one stage an officer days: “Pop your lolly down Mr Reader.”
He was also watching the 2019 Scottish Open Snooker Final between Mark
Selby and Jack Lisowksi.
After being informed that he is being arrested for the murder of Mrs
Price, Reader can be heard saying “what?” before feigning ignorance about
the incident.
He visibly winces as the handcuffs are put on him, before asking
an officer: “Can you fill me in? What has happened?”
Later on, the killer calmly asks the arresting officer: “When did this happen?”
The video was taken just hours after he shot his former partner dead on December 15, 2019, through the window of her car in the village of Earls Barton, Northamptonshire.
He carried out the killing after a “controlling and abusive
campaign” during their marriage.
His best friend Stephen Welch, 61, was also found guilty of murder
after becoming involved in the horrific plot to kill her.
After being ordered to pay Mrs Price £10,000 as a final divorce
settlement, Reader took the decision to shoot her at close range
six days later.
During their marriage, Reader belittled his wife and made derogatory comments about her appearance.
He turned the “fun mum” her children knew into someone who was “constantly on edge”.
On one occasion in 2017, Reader left Mrs Price stranded in London because she had “embarrassed him” by daring to get up and dance at a Jersey Boys musical, along with the rest of the West End audience.
And in another, after their divorce was already in progress, Reader secretly installed a tracker on Mrs Price’s car so he could “keep tabs on her”.
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service available. from 10am to noon.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Welch, from Northampton, played an integral part in the murder of Mrs Price, helping Reader plan it.
He assisted in following her movements for months prior to the shooting and helped him escape after the killing.
Welch even picked him up and helped to dispose of Reader’s clothes in
the River Nene before getting rid of the murder weapon and taking his
friend’s mobile phone.
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Thinking he had got away with it, Welch fled to Alicante before police
arrested him on his return from Spain.
Reader was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 31 years.
Welch was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 27
years.