Adrian Muir jailed for Pamela Jackson killing Published duration 30 September 2013

media caption Pamela Jackson's family said they were going through a "life sentence" after killer Adrian Muir was jailed

A man who killed his girlfriend and buried her body in a shallow grave has been jailed for 18 years.

Adrian Muir, 51, was convicted on Friday of the manslaughter of Pamela Jackson, 55, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, but cleared of murder.

The grandmother's body was found in May on the moors above Halifax, two months after she went missing from her home.

Muir, from Halifax, fractured Ms Jackson's skull during a row before driving 120 miles to dump her body.

'Manslaughter injustice'

A statement from Ms Jackson's family read out after the sentencing hearing at Newcastle Crown Court said: "The past six months have been horrendous and heart-wrenching; no question, the hardest thing we have ever had to deal with.

image caption Adrian Muir was found not guilty of murdering Pamela Jackson

"There was never any doubt about who was responsible for taking the life of our beloved family member.

"We cannot understand how and why the lesser charge of manslaughter was given and we feel a sense of injustice for Pamela."

The court heard Ms Jackson had taunted Muir in a series of texts, calling him "ugly" and boasting she had a new lover.

After sentencing, Geoff Mason, a spokesman for the CPS North East, said: "Since killing Pamela, Adrian Muir has acted utterly without remorse.

"He continued to lie in the face of the huge volume of forensics and telecommunications evidence.

"Each and every one of his actions has been motivated by a cowardly sense of self-preservation, with little concern for the impact they would have on the family."

Mobile phone evidence showed Muir made the journey from Chester-le-Street to the moors of West Yorkshire on the night Ms Jackson disappeared.

Her blood was discovered in his car, while soil found in the foot-well of the vehicle linked him to the burial site.