'Cauldron drove architect to kill wife'

Millionaire architect Michael Morton murdered his wife when a "boiling cauldron" of domestic issues came to a head seven years ago, a court was told today.

The Old Bailey heard that Gracia Morton, 40, who vanished in November 1997, had not walked out on her beloved daughter but had been killed by her husband, now 66.

He killed her after an argument over sending the girl to private school and has since been living in a "fiction of his own making".

She had filed for divorce and left him, with the four-year-old, but "it was her new life which was to cost her her life", the jury heard.

Mrs Morton was last seen dropping off their daughter at school before going to her husband's home, a month before their decree nisi.

The court heard Morton and his wife had had a bitter row about schools. She wanted private education, which Morton "profoundly disliked".

Morton had also accused her of stealing money. The pair were arguing over the future of hundreds of thousands of pounds, it was said.

Morton denies murder, claiming Gracia was alive and well when he last saw her.

The case continues.