A WOMAN has been sentenced for manslaughter following a five-year investigation.
June Buttle, from Doncaster, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court last week and admitted killing her partner, Thomas Groome, in January 2010.
She also entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to prevent a burial and fraud against the 53-year-old's estate, whose body has never been found.
Mr Groome, a regular visitor to Barnsley, spent Christmas with his sister in Kendray but was last seen on New Year's Day 2010 as he left his son's home in Thorne, Doncaster.
His family reported him missing and a murder investigation was launched in 2012. Buttle, first arrested on suspicion of murder in March 2013, was charged the following year.
The case was set to go to trial but Buttle, 56, admitted her involvement in Mr Groome's death and her guilty plea to manslaughter was accepted.
She was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Detective Superintendent Lisa Ray, the senior investigating officer in the case, said: "My thoughts are with the family of Mr Groome, and while there will still be untold grief for them because of Buttle’s actions, I hope they do feel some sense of justice has been served knowing that she has been sentenced for her crimes."
