A MECHANIC who murdered his friend over a bitter family dispute has been jailed for life.

Carl Hodgkiss strangled his cousin Sandra Jepson's estranged husband Marc Jepson to death in his Farnworth home.

Judge Michael Henshall described the act as "appalling" and sentenced Hodgkiss to life imprisonment with a minimum of 14 years at Manchester Crown Court today.

A jury took three-and-half hours to deliever its verdict after the 10-day trial.

Hodgkiss, who had denied murder, wept as he was jailed.

His co-accused — his aunt Irene Hodgkiss, mother of Mr Jepson's estranged wife Sandra — was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, but convicted of the lesser charge of conspiracy to commit actual bodily harm.

The trial had heard she had asked her nephew to go to Mr Jepson's house to "give him a couple of slaps" — but the jury cleared her of having any intention of her son-in-law being killed.

Benjamin Myers QC, defending Carl Hodgkiss, said his client had never intended to kill Mr Jepson when he went to his house and even tried to perform CPR on his victim.

Judge Henshall agreed and deducted a year from the recommended 15-year sentence because of the remorse he had shown in trying to resuscitate Mr Jepson.

Judge Henshall said: "You have been convicted by this jury of murder and the victim of that offence was Marc Jepson, a man who had been a friend of yours for some time.

"I accept that you did not go to Marc Jepson's house that night to kill him but it was entirely foreseeable that he would react to your presence.

"Marc Jepson had more than 50 injuries about his body and the injuries that must have been caused before his death indicate he was beaten about the face in particular.

"By comparison the injuries apparently inflicted on you by him were trivial.

"They don't stand comparison to the injuries he suffered."

A pathologist had accepted in court that Hodgkiss' account of Mr Jepson's murder — that he held his fist against his throat to restrain him until his arms dropped — could be true.

Judge Henshall added: "Your culpability is high because you went to the house in the first place.

"The resuscitation by you does indicate a frenzied panic, with further evidence of you being seen running from his house after the killing.

"Death by strangulation is an appalling act to contemplate however it was done.

"You held him there by whatever means until life was extinguished."

Irene Hodgkiss, aged 63, will be sentenced on January 9 for conspiracy to commit actual bodily harm.