The controlling and manipulative behaviour of a city trader who murdered his wife and burnt her corpse has been laid out in a report.

Darren Byrne, 40, attacked his 35-year-old wife, Maria, then turned on the gas in the kitchen of their home in Morgon Crescent, Theydon Bois, trying to make her death look like an accident while she was making a bacon sandwich.

It happened while the couple’s two young children were staying with their grandparents on February 13, 2015.

In December the following year Judge Charles Gratwick sentenced Byrne to a life-sentence, stipulating that he must spend at least 24 years behind bars.

With the criminal case concluded and the possibly of undermining proceedings having passed, the Epping Forest Community Safety Partnership began investigating the domestic circumstances surrounding Maria's death.

A portrait of Byrne as "selfish" and "spoilt" is painted in a report published today (December 14).

After moving in together and marrying amidst a whirl-wind romance, Byrne becoming jealous after the couple's children were born, Maria's family recalled.

She spoke to her GP about issues with the relationship and attending couple's counselling with her husband.

At points Byrne subjected his wife to intense emotional pressure, speeding her along the motorway at 100mph while eating and drinking and, Maria's family claim, 'gaslighting' her.

Gaslighting abuse causes a victim to question their own feelings, instincts and sanity, making them more likely to stay in the abusive relationship.

Byrne said if she was different then everything would be good again and they would go back to having a "perfect world".

Maria Byrne

Maria told family members Byrne had threatened her with a divorce is she did not become more attentive six weeks before the murder.

The report, which refers to Maria as Susan and Byrne as Peter, reads: "During this period Susan found out that Peter had secretly consulted a divorce lawyer and that he had a file on his computer titled ‘Susan’ where he had listed all her misdemeanours.

"Susan was desperate to make the relationship work as she did not want her children to grow up in a divorced family."

Although the relationship between the pair seemed strained - especially after Maria found texts on her husband's phone from osteopath Deborah Houlihan revealing an affair - the couple had a civil meal together the night before her murder.

The Safety Partnership report found that the "subtle" nature of what probably amounted to emotional domestic abuse made it unlikely that those surrounding Maria would have attempted to help her.

The home in Morgan Crescent, Theydon Bois, where Darren Byrne murdered his wife Maria.

Councillor Sam Kane, Epping Forest District Council portfolio holder for community safety, said: “The panel’s view was that irrespective of whether outreach services were available to Susan, it was unlikely that she, her family and friends would have recognised her need for access to them, because the domestic abuse she received was so subtle.

"This is indicative of the widening definition of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is far more than physical.

"It can take many forms that are not as obvious as broken bones or bruising.

“The report highlights the importance of health professionals in recognising potential domestic abuse through interactions with patients with non-physical symptoms such as low self-esteem or depression."

Family members described Maria as being a loving mother and that she lived her life for her children.

In a statement they said: “Her beautiful children remain her enduring legacy. We hope to raise them to become fine adults contributing to society, hoping that they will be scarred but not damaged by the tragic loss of their mother."

Visit the Southend, Essex and Thurrock Domestic Abuse Board website at www.setdab.org/victims/ for comprehensive advice and guidance on how to get help.