ROBERT Lund told lies to cover up the murder of his wife Evelyn, a court heard.

He was the only person who could have done it, examining magistrate Maitre Barthe told a packed courtroom at Cour d'Assises de Tarn, Albi, southern France.

Evelyn's body was put in a 4X4 and the car was sunk in a French lake, the court heard.

Lund, 55, killed his wife , who was formerly of Darwen, so that he could take over their farmhouse in the village of La Veaute and live off her life insurance, the court was told yesterday.

The ex-Blackburn Council tree protection officer has always denied murder and has claimed that Evelyn died after driving her Toyota Landcruiser into the lake by accident.

The court heard that he told the police "manifest lies" to disguise the murder.

And in a dramatic first day, the jury was told that: * Robert Lund lied when he said his wife had not returned home following a row on the night of her death .

* She was probably smothered or knocked unconscious before she entered the water .

* A doctor and an accident investigator agreed that the 4x4 did not end up in the lake by accident.

* There was evidence of a large pool of blood on the back seat .

* Lund, who had cheated on both Evelyn and his first wife, confessed to the killing to a fellow inmate in Albi prison .

It was also revealed that police were alerted to Lund's possible guilty when he showed in-depth knowledge of the crime scene during a trip to the lake with Lancashire Telegraph journalists.

The badly decomposed body of Evelyn, who went missing on December 29, 1999, was found on the back seat of her red 4x4 in Lake Bancalie, 15 miles from the couple's home, on October 13 2001.

The find was made by chance when the water level in the reservoir dropped by 30ft during a drought allowing a passing horse-rider to spot the roof of the vehicle.

Lund is accused of unpremeditated murder, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

The court was told how Evelyn fled to the house of a friend, Marianne Ramsey, on the night of her disappearance, after a row with her husband about her heavy drinking.

Maitre Barthe said Lund had lied when he told police that his wife did not come back home after storming out.

Mrs Ramsey's husband, Alan, told police that Evelyn was wearing glasses when she arrived at his house but they were later found in her handbag at the Lunds' farmhouse.

Maitre Barthe said this proved that Evelyn, the widow of a former Burnley bank manager, had returned home before her death.

Traces of blood found on her clothing and the back seat of the 4x4 showed she had died as a result of violence, not a driving accident, the court heard.

Maitre Barthe said: "When her body entered the water she was no longer breathing, or breathing so little that she did not inhale any water, which indicates that she had already been smothered or knocked unconscious."

The keys were in the ignition of her 4x4 when it was found, the handbrake was off and the gear lever was in neutral, the court was told. A forensic examination of the vehicle allowed a conclusion that the engine was running when the vehicle entered the water, the court was told.

A doctor and a motor expert agreed that her death couldn't have been caused by a traffic accident at the side of the lake, jurors heard.

Andre Loriot, a witness, who claimed to have been held in prison in the same cell as Robert Lund at Albi, claims to have built up trust with Lund and said he admitted to him that he was responsible for his wife's death.

Evelyn, a 52-year-old mother-of-three, was born in Rossendale and lived in Winter Hill, Darwen, before meeting Lund.

He left his home in Anyon Street, Darwen, to move in with her before the couple moved to southern France and started a new life in a 400-year-old farmhouse.

During questioning, Lund said that his wife did not adjust to life in France when they moved there in 1997, and struggled with drinking, which meant she would "sometimes erupt into violence."

In court Lund admitted that he had had an affair with a neighbour in England and said he had also cheated on his first wife.

The jury was today due to visit the lake where Evelyn's body was found..

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