The body of Sandie Bowen, 53, who was murdered by husband Michael 20 years ago, has finally been found in a reservoir in Wales

The body of a wife murdered by her husband has finally been found 20 years after she was killed.

Sandie Bowen, 53, was tied to a block and thrown into a reservoir by husband Michael, 70, after her death in 1997.

She was found after a passer-by spotted the gruesome remains of her decapitated body in the drained reservoir in Wales - and police later confirmed the identity.

DNA checks of the body - with no feet nor hands - finally solved the 20-year mystery of Ms Bowen's killing.

Bowen, now 61, served 15 years of a life sentence but kept secret what he did with the body was he was released two years ago.

Her family, who previously pleaded for closure by knowing where she was was killed, are now planning a funeral for her.

Police feared he had buried her naked body in a secret hideaway deep in the heart of the forest near their country home.

But a hiker saw what they thought might be a dead body in a section of dried up reservoir in Wentwood, Gwent.

The 'grey and bloated' body was discovered with the head, feet and hands missing tied to a heavy block and dumped at the bottom of the water.

A spokeswoman for Gwent Police said: 'On February 1, 2017, following information received from members of the public, Gwent Police recovered the remains of a deceased woman from the edge of the reservoir at Wentwood.

'A post-mortem examination of the body has since been carried out and forensic analysis of a sample of DNA which was extracted from the bones have confirmed that the body is that of Sandra Bowen who disappeared from her home in Llandogo in Monmouthshire in August 1997.

'In 1998, her husband, Michael Raymond Bowen was convicted of her murder and was given a life sentence.

Bowen, 70, pictured, murdered his wife after discovering she was having an affair with her boss, and was jailed for life, although he only served 15 years before his release

Her body was found at Wentwood Reservoir, pictured, which has since been drained

'Sandra's family been notified of the result of the DNA analysis and specialist officers are offering support to them.'

Bowen killed his wife in a jealous rage after discovering she had been having sex with her boss.

At the time the body was found, Mrs Bowen's daughter Anita Giles said: 'They've contacted me because there is a possibility it may be my mother, but they won't know until the autopsy has been done - which could take up to two months.'

Now she said she finally had 'closure' after the confirmation it was her mother's body.

Ms Giles, of Folkestone, Kent, said: 'I'm pleased to have confirmation that it is my mum, 20 years is a long time to grieve.

'We finally have got closure and I can lay her to rest.'

Ms Giles added she felt murderers should not be released unless they reveal what they have done with their victim's remains.

She said the so-called 'Helen's Law' should be brought in as quickly as possible.

Bowen, right, always refused to tell police where the body was but now it has been found her daughter Anita Giles, left, said she 'finally had closure'

Mrs Bowen was murdered at the home she shared with her husband, pictured, in Monmouthshire

Helen's Law is a campaign started by the family of Helen McCourt of Merseyside, who was killed by in Ian Simms, who refused to reveal where her body was.

MPs voted in favour of it in October but it is due for a second reading before being made law.

She said: 'This proves that we need Helen's Law to stop murderers being released unless they say where the body is.

'Bowen would still be in prison now if there was Helen's Law.'

Bowen was released from prison in 2015 but is believed to have kept his silence on the whereabouts of his murdered wife.

Upon his release, stepdaughter Anita called on Bown to reveal his secrets - and said: 'I want to know two things - what happened and where is she?

'He might be able to shut the door on this and move on, but I can't.

'There is no closure for me. I've never had that, and never had an explanation as to why he did it.

'I still have to live with everything unresolved but now he has got a life of liberty.'

A massive police search using tracker dogs, helicopters and teams of volunteers over a huge area of woodland found no trace of her in 1997.

Police launched a huge search for her in 1997, pictured, after she went missing but were never able to find her body

Killer Bowen pleaded innocence at his trial - and refused to help detectives find her grave.

But he was jailed for life after a judge described it as a 'remarkable and callous act of concealment'.

Mrs Bowen's affair with hotel boss George Morgan was the talk of the tiny village of Llandogo, in the Wye Valley, Gwent.

Bowen only discovered she was sleeping with her boss when he overheard people talking about it in his local pub.

The forestry worker returned home after downing six pints of Guinness - and confronted his wife in their bedroom.

She told him she planned to sell their house and move in with businessman Mr Morgan.

He killed her after a blazing row before driving to Wentwood Forest in the dead of night to dispose of her body.

Bowen initially told detectives his wife vanished after going to visit her family 200 miles away.

He claimed he had driven his wife in their LandRover to Newport railway station to visit her daughter in Folkestone, Kent.

But she never arrived and was not seen since.

Bowen, pictured, tied her body to a block and threw her into the reservoir in Gwent after killing her

Traces of her blood were found on one of his shirts and her partly-burned purse was found in a fire.

Police also found her dentures, passport, driving licence and reading glasses at the house.

During the five-week trial it emerged Bowen was also a love-cheat and had been having an affair for 18 months.

Three days after his wife disappeared, his lover Judith Owen stayed the night at his home when Bowen told her: 'My wife is not coming back. She's never coming back.'

After his arrest, Bowen told another prisoner on remand: 'They will never find the body.'

Bowen told police he wasn't worried about his wife's affair - claiming he was relieved because he could 'get out of a bad marriage.'

The pair met while Bowen was working as a crane driver on the Channel Tunnel.

He was staying at the lodging house in Folkestone, Kent, where his future wife was working as a cook.

Mrs Bowen returned to Wales with Bowen when the work ended and the pair wed in 1994.

She worked at the Valley House hotel in their home village of Llandogo, Gwent, owned by George Morgan.

Bowen was described as stone-faced as he was led away following the guilty verdict at his trial.

At the time, Mr Justice Eady said: 'This was a remarkable and callous exercise of concealment.

'The sad fact of this case is that Sandra Bowen's family will probably never know where her body lies.'