No early prison release for Great Shefford murderer

Former Great Shefford woman Rena Salmon has failed in an appeal to reduce the length of her jail term for murder

A FORMER Great Shefford mother-of-two who blasted her estranged husband's pregnant lover with a shotgun has failed in an appeal to reduce the length of her minimum jail term for murder.

Pregnant Lorna Stewart, 36, had been having an affair with Rena Beyum Salmon's husband Paul and the pair had set up home together in 2003, London's Appeal Court heard on Friday (May 13).

Salmon, 51, drove from her home in Station Road, Great Shefford, to Ms Stewart's beauty salon, Equilibrium, in Chiswick, west London, on September 10 2002.

She took a double-barrelled shotgun out of her car boot and shot her estranged husband's younger lover twice. She then smoked two cigarettes and made phone calls whilst waiting for police to arrive.

In May 2003, Salmon was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 14 years to serve, after being convicted of murder.

She had admitted killing her rival, but had claimed it was manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.

However on Friday, she asked Lord Justice Pill, Mr Justice Langstaff and Mrs Justice Macur, sitting at London's Criminal Appeal Court, to lower that 14-year minimum term.

The court heard Salmon had "reacted extremely strongly" when learning of her husband's infidelity, tricking a locksmith into opening the safe where her husband kept his shotguns, in order to get her hands on the murder weapon.

She then drove to Ms Stewart's place of work and killed both her and her unborn child.

Her lawyers argued that the offence came close to the border between murder and manslaughter because she was suffering from depression at the time of the slaying and had been "provoked in the non-technical sense."

It was also claimed that she deserved a reduction in sentence for helping other prisoners in a voluntary capacity since she was locked up.

But Lord Justice Pill, giving the judgement of the court, rejected her application for permission to appeal, saying: "This was a planned and pre-meditated killing carried out in a calm and collected manner.

"She said her intention was to kill herself in front of her rival and the second shot was an accident, but the jury rightly rejected this.

"She was suffering from depression and was a good mother to her children. Her husband was the prospective father of the deceased's unborn baby and she was aware that the deceased was pregnant.

"But we cannot fault the reasoning of the judge who set the minimum term. We agree with her reasoning and we are not minded to reduce the term by reason of the post-killing conduct.

"Accordingly this application must be dismissed," the judge concluded.