Husband accused of killing wife seven years ago

London: A husband has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife on their honeymoon seven years ago.

John Davies' bride Colette, 39, was found dead at the bottom of a ravine in India.

She had plunged more than 25 metres from a viewing point, but Indian police ruled out foul play and a British coroner said that the death was an accident.

However, Colette's family were convinced she died in suspicious circumstances and persuaded their own local police to investigate. And after flying to India to visit the scene and interview witnesses, officers on Thursday arrested Davies, 50. The couple had been married more than a year before going on a delayed honeymoon in 2004, trekking in the beautiful Himachal Pradesh region of India.

Colette's body was flown back home to Bridgend, South Wales, where she was cremated after an inquest recorded an accidental verdict.

South Wales Police would not say when exactly they began their own inquiries but confirmed that a team of officers flew to the town of Solan in northern India to review the investigation carried out by the force there.

They visited the spot near the town of Gaura where Colette was found dead and re-interviewed more than a dozen witnesses.

On Thursday they arrested Davies at his home in Milton Keynes and took him back to Bridgend for questioning. The couple had lived in a semi-detached house on a quiet estate in the town after they were married in October 2002.

A former neighbour said: "It was a real mystery to us what happened. They went off together on honeymoon but only he came back.

‘A real shock'

"We heard there had been a terrible accident and Colette had died. We never really heard much more, and then within a few months he was gone. It is a real shock all these years later. I think it was a second marriage for both of them and they seemed like perfectly nice people."

Detective Inspector Mark Lewis, of South Wales Police, said: "It was thought Colette fell from a height while on holiday with her husband.

"Her death on 27 February, 2004, was investigated by the Himachal Pradesh State police, where no suspicious circumstances were found. But detectives from South Wales travelled to India as part of a review of the case.

"While I consider this arrest to be a positive development in the investigation, I am also appealing for any information surrounding the circumstances of this death. Colette's family have been informed of the arrest and continue to be supported by specialist family liaison officers."

— Daily Mail