London - A senior RAF officer who had seen service in Northern Ireland and in the Gulf War was beginning a life sentence yesterday after being convicted of murdering his wife. An RAF regiment squadron leader, Nicholas Tucker (46), based at RAF Honington, Suffolk, looked stunned as the verdict was delivered after a 13-day hearing at Norwich Crown Court. Tucker bit his lip, shook his head and looked down as Mr Justice Gage told him he had been convicted of a "planned, callous and coolly-executed act". He appeared to mouth the word, "No".
Mr Christopher Stokes, QC, prosecuting, said Tucker killed his wife Carol (52) because of his infatuation with Ms Dijana Dudukovic (21), a blonde Serbian interpreter he had become involved with while serving with the United Nations in the former Yugoslavia. He throttled then drowned Mrs Tucker in the River Lark at Lackford, Suffolk, in July 1995 before faking a car crash in an attempt to cover his tracks, Mr Stokes said.