THE aunt of the man who murdered Farnworth dad Marc Jepson has avoided jail for her role in his death.

Irene Hodgkiss, aged 63, from Farnworth, had appeared on trial alongside her nephew Carl Hodgkiss, aged 28, who was found guilty of Mr Jepson’s murder in December — in the same trial where she was cleared of conspiracy to commit murder.

The 63-year-old was instead convicted of the lesser charge of conspiracy to commit actual bodily harm, after the trial at Manchester Crown Court heard that she told her nephew to visit Mr Jepson, the estranged partner of her daughter Sandra Jepson, and give him “a few slaps”.

The jury decided that with that request, she had no intention that her son-in-law would be killed.

Mr Jepson was strangled to death by former mechanic Carl Hodgkiss, aged 28, at his home in Kildare Street in Farnworth on March 5 after a long-running family dispute.

Hodgkiss denied murdering the dad-of-one but was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 14 years.

During sentencing today at Manchester Crown Court, Irene Hodgkiss was handed a 12-month jail term, which will be suspended for 12 months.

She was also given a year-long supervision order by the court.