“A killer who is believed to have strangled a 'beautiful, caring' mother-of-two before setting her body on fire and burying it in woodland has been jailed for 18 years.”

“Mohammed Durnion had claimed Reanne Coulson, 33, had died from a drug overdose at his flat on Paynes Lane, Coventry, in May last year.”

“Durnion, a 42-year-old labourer, said he had taken 'stupid amounts' of cocaine and panicked after she died, hiding her body from police under a mattress before burying it in a shallow grave five miles away.”

“He was cleared of murder on Tuesday after a three-week trial, but convicted of manslaughter after jurors heard he used petrol to set part of Coulson's corpse alight.”

“Prosecutors had told the court her death was caused by her being attacked and strangled by the defendant, but the trial heard there was no categoric evidence to confirm how she died.”

“Judge Kristina Montgomery KC told the court he was a dangerous offender and there was a significant risk of violent reoffending.”

“She ruled that, while the cause of death had not been established, the evidence had shown the defendant strangled Coulson.”

“Durnion's friend and fellow ground worker Adam Moore, 39, was sentenced to six years in prison for assisting an offender by helping in the disposal of Coulson's body.”

“Coulson was last seen near a church meeting she had attended on Raglan Street, Coventry, on 21 May, where she had appeared to be well.”

“Durnion is believed to have met by chance his victim, who was a sex worker, shortly after she left the support group.”

“A post-mortem examination was unable to establish a cause of death, but revealed Coulson appeared to have sustained the injuries while she was alive.”

“While in custody, he was shown an emotional appeal from her family and agreed to lead officers to where he had hidden his victim's remains.”

“In mitigation, David Mason KC said the 'hardened criminal' had 'completely gone off the rails and got himself in a terrible, terrible situation'.”

“When her body was found, the examination of it showed burn injuries that were inflicted following her death.”

“He told police he had asked her to buy drugs for him and there was no sexual contact between them.”

“Durnion was arrested on 24 June, two weeks after Coulson was reported missing.”

“When officers responded, Durnion would not let them in and told them he was having a mental health crisis, pretending his father had cancer.”

“He drove to the woods, where he dug a shallow grave and used petrol to burn her body, which was then not discovered until five-and-a-half weeks later.”

“Investigators said she went with Durnion to his flat, near the city centre, just after 23:20 BST.”

“The sentencing hearing was told Durnion had 14 previous convictions, including for battery and assault.”

“Durnion returned to the flat in the early hours of 22 May, after police had left, and retrieved Coulson's body and put it in a suitcase.”

“Later that night, police officers were called by Durnion's neighbours, who reported hearing a woman 'screaming in fear' inside his flat.”