A TRAFFORD police inspector who murdered his detective wife and dumped her body in a lake has finally been dismissed from the force.

Inspector Darren McKie, who worked at Stretford Police Station, was dismissed without notice as a result of him being convicted of the murder of his wife Leanne.

McKie, 44, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder which took place in Wilmslow, Cheshire in September 2017.

The disgraced inspector will serve a minimum of 19 years before being considered for release.

Messenger Newspapers:

Darren McKie was sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murder of his wife Leanne.

McKie was one of two GMP officers and a special constable dismissed at special case hearings at GMP Force Headquarters yesterday (Wednesday, August 22).

All three had been convicted of criminal offences and faced special case hearings chaired by Chief Constable Ian Hopkins.

Inspector Darren McKie, former PC Kerry Reeve and Special Constable Rafiq Morris were all dismissed from the force and will be placed on a national policing barred list which will prohibit them from working for any law enforcement agency in the future.

McKie, who did not attend the dismissal hearing, was sentenced to a minimum 19 years in prison in March for the murder of his wife in September last year.

Messenger Newspapers:

Leanne McKie, a detective with GMP, was strangled to death at the couple's home in Cheshire.

The debt-ridden police officer left his desk at Stretford police station halfway through his shift on September 28 last year.

He went home to Burford Close in Wilmslow, where he strangled his wife after a row over finances.

The couple, who both worked for Greater Manchester Police, had debts of more than £100,000.

McKie, who was in charge of resource management at the Trafford division of GMP, broke two bones in his wife's neck when he choked her to death.

The police inspector bundled his wife's body into her Mini and drove to Poynton Lake, where he dragged her body 140 metres into the water.

Speaking after the hearings, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “Members of the public rightly expect the highest standard of behaviour from all those who work for Greater Manchester Police but the actions and subsequent criminal convictions of these three people fell way below that expectation.

“The breach of standards committed by Darren McKie has damaged the reputation of GMP and undermined public confidence in the police service.

"His appalling actions led to the tragic loss of life of a mother, daughter and serving GMP officer.

"The impact on Leanne’s parents and three young children will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

“Her loss is still felt by her former colleagues and we will continue to provide support to them and Leanne’s loved ones should they need anything."

Read more on the McKie murder

Former PC Kerry Reeve, who resigned from the force prior to pleading guilty at court, was ruled by the Chief Constable to have committed gross misconduct after being sentenced to 31 weeks in prison.

She had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of encouraging the commission of criminal offences to take place.

Special Constable Morris, from Trafford, was dismissed after Chief Constable Hopkins ruled that his conviction for sending threatening messages to his ex-girlfriend’s current partner amounted to gross misconduct.