Son gets life for murder of domineering father

Mark Alexander, 22, killed Samuel Alexander, 70, at the family home before burying his body in concrete in the garden.

Passing sentence at Reading Crown Court, Judge John Reddihough said he accepted Alexander may have been in fear of his father, but added that, after his death, he acted in a "despicable, callous and sometimes cunning manner".

Alexander remained impassive as he was taken down to the cells.

The partially-burned remains of his father, a former lecturer, were only found after neighbours became suspicious and compiled a dossier of information for police.

The residents of Prospect Close, a cul-de-sac in the small village of Drayton Parslow, Buckinghamshire, were concerned they had not seen Egyptian-born Mr Alexander since a garden party in August 2009.

Mr Alexander was eventually reported missing in February this year, five months after it is believed he was murdered.

Officers found his decomposed remains buried under mortar and concrete in the garden. His son had attempted to burn parts of the body.

During the six-week trial it emerged that Mark Alexander, who was studying law and French at King's College, London, faked his father's signature on Christmas cards.

The court was also told of the extent to which his father dominated his son's life. In mitigation, the 22-year-old's lawyer, Michael Borelli QC, said his mother was driven out by the family by the "bullying" husband when the defendant was only six years old.

From then on, his father had a hold on his son's life to such an extent that he used a bell to call him.

He was kept apart from other children and made to practice music and study for long hours under the orders of his father, the court was told.

Mr Borelli added that Alexander was so fearful of his parent that he could not tell him of plans to stay in London with his girlfriend instead of studying in Paris, as his father expected.

The domineering parent also had a "secret life", said Mr Borelli.

He would spend hours on the computer surfing teenage chat rooms and sex websites, sometimes posing as a teenager.