A millionaire architect murdered his violinist wife seven years ago after she walked out on their 'violent' and unhappy marriage, a court heard yesterday (Fri June 24).

Michael Morton, 66, was driven to despair when Gracia Morton, 41, filed for divorce and left with their four year-old daughter, it is claimed.

Gracia vanished without trace on November 12, 1997, after taking her daughter to school.

Morton allegedly killed her when she visited his home to discuss the divorce settlement and the girl's schooling.

Morton, who has a country cottage in Stonesfield, near Woodstock, and a house in London, denies murder.

At the Old Bailey yesterday, prosecutor Brian Altman said: "He was the last person to see her alive. She has not been seen since and her body has never been recovered.

"Her disappearance was totally out of character. She left behind her daughter to whom she was absolutely and utterly devoted and her family and her future life for which she was busily planning.

"Police investigations into her disappearance established that Gracia's life ended that morning."

Morton had become suicidal after Gracia left him on February 1, 1997, and remained desperate to avoid divorce.

Mr Altman said: "There was also a dark and sinister aspect to the relationship."

Mrs Morton, the Argentinian-born daughter of well-known Buenos Aires journalist Hugo Lezama, came to Britain in 1985.

She met Morton when her sister employed him as an architect and married him on September 15, 1987 in Chelsea.

The case continues.