A POLICE officer showed "no remorse" and "no regret" after killing his wife and dumping her body in a lake, a detective who investigated the murder has said.

Detective Superintendent Aaron Duggan, of Cheshire Police, said officers had to "unpick the lies" of Darren McKie, aged 43, as they investigated the death of his wife Leanne, a 39-year-old detective constable, whose body was discovered in Poynton Lake, Cheshire, on September 29 last year.

When McKie was originally interviewed by officers, he told them he had nothing to do with his wife's death — but nine days into his trial he admitted the manslaughter of the mother-of-three, who was strangled.

Mr Duggan said throughout interviews and court hearings McKie had "shown no emotion at all, no remorse, no regret at all for what he's done".

The trial heard the couple were more than £100,000 in debt and police believe Mrs McKie's murder followed an argument after she discovered an application for a £54,000 loan made by McKie in her name.

Mr Duggan said: "Darren kept the debt from Leanne, he hid that from her.

"Leanne found out that he'd been applying for loans in her name and she had no idea, she had no clue he was doing that."

He said the family lived "beyond their means", but McKie was in charge of the finances.

Mr Duggan said: "It would appear he's quite a controlling character in terms of the relationship around spending and we know from Leanne's friends and other parents that messages would be sent from Darren to her along the lines of 'stop spending, no more spending this month until we get paid'.

"Leanne didn't know the true picture, she didn't have a clue of how much debt was owed."

He said McKie, who had been a serving police officer for more than 20 years, tried to "frustrate the inquiry" by disposing of crucial evidence, including his trainers, found in a wheelie bin near his Wilmslow home with his wife's blood on.

He said: "Darren's been holding out, he's been hoping he could get away with what he's done and it's only when we've presented the overwhelming evidence during the trial that he's accepted that there's nowhere else for him to go other than to admit his guilt."

McKie first came to the attention of police at 1.30am the day after he killed his wife, when officers patrolling the area because of reported burglaries saw him walking towards Wilmslow.

He told them he was walking to his home nearby, but 45 minutes later the officers saw him again, this time with no shoes on.

They took him home and left him, but returned later that morning and, after her body was discovered, arrested him on suspicion of his wife's murder.

Mr Duggan said: "In this case, had it not been for the actions of two officers on the following morning when they've come across Darren, we probably would have lost crucial evidence."

As McKie chose not to give evidence in his trial, the details of how his wife met her death may never be known.

Mr Duggan said: "Obviously I would like Darren to tell us what's happened, that would be the right thing to do for the case.

"It would also be the right thing to do for his three children."

Greater Manchester Police Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling said: “My heart goes out to Leanne’s family, particularly her three children, who she adored. This is such a tragedy, and ultimately it is those children whose lives have been turned upside down the most by this devastating incident.
“Leanne was a hard working officer who showed the utmost professionalism, she worked as a Detective in the Serious Sexual Offences Unit and supported victims when they were at their most vulnerable. She worked tirelessly to provide victims with support and get them the justice they deserved.
“While this has been a Cheshire Police investigation, our officers have lost a colleague and a much-loved friend, Leanne was part of the Greater Manchester Police family and we will continue to always be there for her family and friends should they need us.
“We are supporting Leanne’s team mates in their grief and will help them in any way that we can.
“We are also supporting those officers who worked with Darren McKie, who remain extremely shocked by what happened.
“My thoughts will remain with all of those affected.”