A former police detective has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years after admitting the murder of his partner, a policewoman whose body was found in a shallow woodland grave.
Peter Foster had previously pleaded not guilty to killing Detective Constable Heather Cooper, 33, who was stabbed before her body was dumped in Blackdown Woods, near Lurgashall, West Sussex, in October last year.
But the 36-year-old former detective constable, who lived with the mother-of-two in Haslemere, Surrey, changed his plea to guilty at Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday.
The court heard that Foster claimed Miss Cooper had attacked him and he initially acted in self-defence but then his actions turned to aggression.
The hearing was told he hit her over the head 10 times with a baseball bat before stabbing her in the throat.
Philippa McAtasney QC, defending, said that Foster, who had been married previously, had expressed "genuine remorse" over what he did.
She explained that he had made a "serious" attempt to commit suicide while on remand and was currently staying on a mental health wing of the prison.
A statement from Miss Cooper's family read: "Since Heather's tragic death, we have been humbled by all the wonderful tributes of respect and love that have been paid to her and the immense compassionate and sensitive support we have received from all quarters. We couldn't have asked for more.
"We would like to thank everyone, in particular the investigation team for all their professionalism and their hard work over the last eight months and all Heather's friends and colleagues for the incredible fundraising which they have undertaken in her memory.
"She would have been proud of them all."