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A man has admitted murdering his wife by strangling her with a bootlace.

Police said Rachel McDaid, 53, was discovered in a house in Nottingham Road, Eastwood, with Michael McDaid's lace wrapped around her neck on 19 April.

The 60-year-old pleaded guilty to her murder when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday.

Judge Stuart Rafferty KC warned McDaid he faced a life sentence, but said he would decide a minimum jail term.

McDaid was estranged from Rachel, police said, but would still visit her home to see their three sons.

He killed her during one such visit and left the house before returning a few minutes later.

Police said he then found one of his sons trying to get in and told him "you can’t go in the house because I’ve killed her".

McDaid drove away and called the police to tell them his wife was dead and he was responsible.

'Despicable'

Police said McDaid, of Acre Lane, Aston-on-Trent, Derbyshire, was arrested a short time later and a boot with its laces missing was subsequently recovered from a narrowboat he was living on.

Det Ch Insp Clare Dean, of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: "Michael McDaid's actions that day destroyed the lives of the family members he was supposed to care about the most.

"I cannot even begin to comprehend the pain Rachel's loved ones were put through and what they will no doubt still feel today because of his despicable decision to murder his former partner.

McDaid, who also admitted a charge of possessing cannabis, will be sentenced on Friday 12 July.

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