She's the devil incarnate
Portofino Poet
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She's the devil incarnate
By ANDREW PARKER
THE father of the husband murdered in a Hilton hotel room by his
cheating wife yesterday branded her the "devil incarnate".
Unfeeling Carol Croydon, 37, was convicted of butchering 49-year-old
Philip after meeting him there for sex.
And his bitter dad Ted Croydon, 75, said of his daughter-in-law: "I
curse this woman every day I wake, I call on God that she cannot
sleep.
"That she knows no peace of mind. That her food is harsh in her mouth
and without taste, that her thirst cannot be quenched. That she sees
no sun or the beauty of nature. That she hears no birdsong."
He added: "That woman is the devil incarnate. Nothing but an evil
witch."
Mr Croydon, 75, lashed out after accountant Carol wept in the dock as
she was jailed for life.
She planned to grab the couple's £395,000 house and make a new life
with married lover Nelson Bland, 50.
Victim ... Philip Croydon
Judge Mr Justice Treacy, who said she must serve at least 16 years,
told her: "You are calculating and devious and have shown no remorse.
"You only admitted responsibility after a series of cover stories were
exposed as lies.
"I am sure that you intended to kill him and I am sure that you
planned it in advance. In my view you are a cold-hearted and ruthless
killer."
Mr Croydon revealed Philip was the third son he and wife Margaret had
lost - two died in childhood.
He added: "To understand the evil of this woman, you should know that
she was aware we had already lost two children. Yet she heaps this
tragedy upon us.
"His killing was planned because she wanted him out of the way so she
could get his money and start afresh with her fancy man.
Lover ... Nelson Bland
"If ever there was a case for capital punishment it's her.
"I'd happily put the rope around her neck myself and pull the lever."
Philip's sister, Sandra Castledine, said: "No verdict or sentence
could be enough for this evil, greedy, lying woman. Nothing could heal
the hurt she has caused to my family.
"Philip gave this evil woman everything he had, he put her on a
pedestal even above his own family. But as we now know everything is
not enough for someone like her.
"We all loved him dearly and every day we miss him and our lives will
never be the same now he has gone."
The court had heard how moneymad Croydon and her husband of three
years went to the Hilton for sex to "spice up their love life".
Grief ... parents Ted and Margaret
But after they stripped off for sex in Room 328 at the East Midlands
Airport hotel, she stabbed him 22 times in the neck with a cheese
knife.
Both were having flings behind each others' backs. Philip had already
had sex that day with an employee at his upholstery business.
Croydon's lover Mr Bland, whom she met on the internet, was waiting at
another hotel for her as she slaughtered her husband - but knew
nothing of her plans.
They had sex later that evening. Philip's body was found next day by a
chambermaid. He had a scarf over his face and ties around his wrists
to make it appear he had died in a bondage game.
Croydon at first told cops she had gone to the Leicestershire hotel
with Philip to meet a couple called Brian and Linda for "swingers"
sex.
She claimed she fled the room after bondage was discussed and her
husband did not return to their home in Edwinstowe, Notts.
Murder 'prize' ... Croydons' house
Later she alleged her LOVER was the killer. She told cops he turned up
at their room at the different hotel and said: "Don't worry, I've
taken care of it Philip won't be coming back."
But a designer shopping bag she was filmed carrying by the Hilton's
CCTV was found with blood stains in a bin at her home.
Desperate Croydon then gave another version, saying she had stabbed
her husband while suffering "flashbacks" of being abused as a child by
a stepdad.
But the jury at Nottingham Crown Court saw through the lies and
convicted her.
Prosecutor Timothy Spencer QC had told them: "You have to be sceptical
about anything that comes from the lips of Carol Croydon. She is a
very good liar and actress who constantly changed her story to save
her own neck.
"She is a woman who cares about material things, property, cars,
houses and clothes and this was all a plan to get them."
Sex killing ... Hilton hotel at airport
The court heard Croydon was also having affairs with two other men as
well as Mr Bland, who had just left his wife Penelope to be with her.
Amazingly, he vowed to stand by her yesterday. He said: "Regardless of
how long Carol has to serve, I will be waiting for her at the prison
gates.
Mr Bland, from Reading, Berks, added: "I am sure there is going to be
an appeal. Whatever, I will be standing by Carol and will wait for
her."
But he could be facing jail himself. Mr Bland, a former councillor in
Wokingham, has appeared in court charged with 33 counts relating to
indecent images of children.
He is due before magistrates again next week. Judge Treacy yesterday
ordered a "proceeds of crime" hearing be held to establish Croydon's
assets and decide whether any should be confiscated.
Philip's father Ted vowed: "We'll fight tooth and nail to stop her
getting a penny from the house.
"It would be a travesty if she got her hands on the money for which
she killed my son."