Nat Fraser found guilty of wife murder in retrial.

Summary: Nat Fraser has been jailed for a minimum of 17 years after being found guilty of murdering his wife for a second time.

Nat Fraser has been jailed for a minimum of 17 years after being found guilty of murdering his wife, Arlene, for the second time, by the High Court in Edinburgh.

The former fruit and vegetable wholesaler was originally convicted of the murder in 2003. However, it was last year overturned following an appeal to the UK's Supreme Court, who determined that the conviction was unsafe.

The mother of two vanished from her home in New Elgin, Moray, in 1998. Fraser had denied the charges, lodging a special defence of alibi, saying he spent the day making deliveries to shops and hotels in the area.

During the retrial, the court heard a claim that Fraser admitted paying a hit man Au15,000 to kill his estranged wife and said that her body had been burned. It was alleged that the murder was planned after Arlene began divorce proceedings.

Fraser's former friend, Hector Dick, 56, gave evidence that suggested that Fraser had murdered his wife.

The farmer said: "I asked what had happened to her. He was very self-confident and said she wouldn't be back. He said she was dead.

"His favourite topic was that she would never be found. He said the body had been burned and there would be no DNA... Her teeth were ground up and disposed of, and there would be no dental records."

Mr Dick told police: "He told me she had been killed at the house and that he had gone that night and cleaned up something.

"He said he had someone kill Arlene. I asked how much, and he replied he had dodged 15 grand. I took this to mean he had paid them Au15,000."

Independent Television News Limited 2011. All rights reserved.

Independent Television News Limited 2012. All rights reserved.

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