Glenn Wathall: Convicted murderer who killed his wife on Christmas day arrested in Spain after 8 years on run

A convicted killer who murdered his wife in a Christmas Day attack has been caught in Spain after eight years on the run. Glenn Wathall, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1999 for beating his partner to death, had gone missing following his February 2015 breach of bail conditions after his release from jail on parole.

Wathall was detained in the Costa Blanca resort of Torrevieja, Spanish police said and a local judge will now make a decision on whether to extradite him to the UK. They said in a statement, in which they didn't name the wanted man: "National Police officers have arrested in Torrevieja a British fugitive wanted over the murder of his partner in 1990. He fled the UK in 2015 after being paroled.

"He used different identities to avoid being located and had no known address in Spain, spending time at different properties belonging to elderly women with problems of addiction or some type of cognitive impairment who provided him with economic sustenance. The investigation began at the start of this year when UK authorities, through Interpol, made officers here aware of the possible presence of a man convicted for murdering his partner in 1990.

"After being bailed in 2015 he abandoned the UK and his whereabouts remained unknown until recently. The information provided by British authorities pointed to him being in the Torrevieja area and alerted officers here to the fact he was potentially dangerous. Investigators were told he had recently been living with two British women who had died recently, one of them suddenly."

A Spanish National Police spokesman added: "The British authorities also provided Spanish police with the number plates of two vehicles the fugitive is thought to have been using. They appeared abandoned in Torrevieja. The information that turned out to be key was that relating to his current partner. The suspect was intercepted as he left his home on a residential estate in Torrevieja. He has now been handed over to a judge who will decide on his extradition."

Wathall was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of murder in 1999 for beating his partner to death in a Christmas Day attack. He served a jail sentence and was released, but 'breached bail conditions' in February 2015 and has been 'wanted for recall to prison' ever since.

An appeal issued by Crimestoppers at the end of April this year said: "Staffordshire Police are appealing for information on the current whereabouts of Glenn Wathall in relation to breach of bail conditions. Wathall was imprisoned for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released but breached bail conditions in February 2015 in the Stafford area. He has links to Doncaster and South Yorkshire."