Dr Robert Jones, who denied wife Diane's murder, dies aged 80

Dr Robert Jones, who was repeatedly interviewed by police following his wife, Diane’s death, has died in France, the Daily Mail has reported.

The body of Mrs Jones, 35, was found in a wood in Suffolk three months after she went missing from her Coggeshall home on July 23, 1983.

Police believed Mrs Jones, who was two months pregnant, had been battered with a spiked hammer shortly after she went missing, but the weapon was never found.

Mystery - police say Diane Jones was murdered after her body was found three months after she disappeared from her home in Coggeshall (Image: Newsquest)

A post-mortem examination found she had multiple skull fractures.

Dr Jones was repeatedly questioned by police about her murder and he was arrested in November 1983 but was released without charge.

Mrs Jones, a former social worker in Braintree, was last seen in the Woolpack Inn, Coggeshall, where she had a row with her husband.

They returned home to Lees Farm but Dr Jones said she disappeared while he parked the car.

Prime suspect - Dr Robert Jones has died aged 80 (Image: Newsquest)

Probe - Dr Jones was never charged for his wife's murder (Image: Newsquest)

Dr Jones reported Mrs Jones – who was his third wife - missing nine days later.

Beaters on a pheasant shoot found her body in a wood in Brightwell, near Martlesham, Suffolk, on October 22.

Mrs Jones was identified through dental records two days later and officials found her skull had been fractured in four places.

Missing - Diane Jones disappeared from the couple's farmhouse in Coggeshall (Image: Newsquest)

Before Mrs Jones’ body was found, her heartbroken father Sid Walker described her as a “lovely daughter” who developed a drinking problem after her mother died four years earlier.

Dr Jones was arrested again in June 1990 and interviewed by the police after detectives were said to have unearthed fresh evidence on the case.

However, after consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, Dr Jones’ bail was cancelled.

Dr Jones always denied he had anything to do with his wife’s murder.