​Murderer Adrian Prout was yesterday ordered to spend more time behind bars – because he refuses to reveal the location of his wife’s body.

The 47-year-old businessman stood motionless in the dock at Bristol Crown Court yesterday as he was handed a life sentence with a minimum 18 years.

Mr Justice Nigel Davis said he was handing Prout three years longer than he could otherwise have expected because his wife Kate’s body was still missing

He said: “I regard it as a very, very aggravating factor that you concealed the body.

“The body has never been found.”

He added: “One of the pieces of evidence that sticks in my mind is Kate Prout used to remember her parents by placing flowers on their graves.

“I expect her family would like to place flowers on her grave but they can’t, and they can’t because of you.”

The judge added he suspected no weapon was used because there was no blood.

“You concealed the body thereafter,” he said. “This was done in a very careful way.

“In view of the comments you made, I couldn’t rule out you may have had the assistance of others.”

Prout, a 47-year-old father-of-two who ran successful pipe laying and pheasant shooting businesses, was found guilty of murder on Friday by a majority jury verdict of 10 to one.

Retired teacher Kate, 55, vanished from the £1.2 million farm they shared during acrimonious divorce proceedings.

She upped her settlement demand to £800,000, which could have meant Prout losing Redhill Farm.

“It’s absolutely right that the prosecution’s case has been that a sudden row must have blown up that night,” said the judge.

“It seems that it rankled with you that Kate would not accept the offer you made of £600,000 to settle the divorce.

“In your own mind that was a fair offer, an offer that meant you could hang on to the farm, as you so wanted to do. But she would not accept it. She had advice and was entitled to take that.

“On November 4, she thought she would hold out for £800,000.

“You knew she had taken out £14,000 to fund legal costs. You knew she would not back off.

“There must have been a violent row that night.”

During the trial the court heard from Kate’s diary how she feared she would be killed on February 1, 2007 when he held over her the farm’s empty swimming pool.

She later moved in with her brother for a short period.

“There had been violent rows before,” said the judge. “It may be that she started them off with her temper but on February 1 you were far more violent than you would admit in this court.

“She returned to you. That turned out to be a disastrous decision.”

Earlier in the summing up, the judge said the Crown Prosecution Service had proved his explanation that he did not know what had happened to his wife was untrue.

“They (the jury) have concluded that she is dead and she is because you murdered her,” he said.

“I have no way of knowing what your inner feelings must be or what they are now. You have not shown much emotion throughout the trial. So be it.”

Mr Justice Davis could not accept defence mitigation Prout was provoked or stressed, particularly after his wife abused him in front of friends and associates.

“The truth is you allowed your temper to erupt and it was your anger that killed her,” he said.

“How you killed her is only known to you. You most probably did it by strangling her. Only you will know precisely.”

Last week Kate’s family called for Prout to reveal where she lies, so they could at least hold a funeral.

The judge added: “You were a man of good character, spoken of positively in many ways. You have a young child and another child.”

Prout’s fiancee, Debbie Garlick, who has recently given birth to their child, did not attend court.

Meanwhile the detective who led the investigation into Kate Prout’s murder last night vowed to quiz her husband about where her body lies.

After the sentencing yesterday, Acting Detective Superintendent Neil Kelly said only new evidence of her resting place would prompt a fresh search for Kate’s body.

Following the 55-year-old’s disappearance in November 2007, an intensive search of the couple’s 276-acre farm and beyond brought no significant forensic clues as to her fate.

Prout always insisted he did not know where she was and said she had disappeared before.

“It is something we will be putting to Prout,” said Det Supt Kelly, who led a search which involved around 50 officers and specialists from other forces.

“It will be intelligence-led – if there is any new intelligence we will do that search. In the absence of any new evidence, then no.

“We will continue to appeal to Prout to give Kate’s family the chance to say a proper goodbye by revealing where her body is.”

He said the life sentence with a minimum of 18 years was appropriate.

“This sentence reflects the gravity and seriousness of the offence,” he said.

“Clearly we are very pleased with the sentence. I think Kate Prout’s family are pleased with the result.

“Hopefully in part it may bring some form of closure and they can move on.”

Deputy Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary Mick Matthews said: “I believe this successful prosecution will give confidence to our communities in local policing capabilities.

“This was a particularly challenging investigation for the constabulary involving significant numbers of officers.

“It demonstrates the wide range of policing issues we have to manage within our available resources and I am delighted that the dedication of our investigators has paid off in terms of justice being done”.

Police Authority chairman Rob Garnham said: “We welcome the verdict and sentencing in the Adrian Prout murder trial and would like to thank Gloucestershire police for all their outstanding work during a long and complex investigation.

“There has been considerable community concern since Kate went missing and I hope this reassures residents that their local police will be there to deal with serious crime of this nature as well as more visible neighbourhood policing issues.”