The mother of murdered Karen Heywood believes justice has been done.

Yesterday her daughter's killer was sentenced to life after being found guilty of strangling the mother of two with his bare hands.

Shirley Crane and Sue Green cried with delight when the guilty verdict was announced.

The mother and sister of Karen Heywood hugged one another in the courtroom as Jarno Cable was led away to start a life sentence behind bars.

Father-of-two Cable, 25, also known as Lenny, strangled Mrs Heywood, 35, in the back of a Ford Fiesta after demanding cash from her.

He buried her body in undergrowth in Houghton Woods, near Arundel, in January.

Speaking on the steps of the court at the end of the two-week trial, Mrs Crane said: "The 12 people of the jury have made the right decision and convicted the man who killed our daughter for money and drugs.

"We will go home in the knowledge that justice has been served and Cable has to spend his life in prison.

"Karen Heywood is resting in peace now.

"We are delighted it's over. We can't bring back Karen but are delighted he has been found guilty."

Mrs Crane thanked the police for their help in finding her daughter's killer.

She said Mrs Heywood's daughters, aged 17 and 15, and two brothers, had been under terrible pressure but would be assured justice had been done.

"We can now sleep peacefully at night.

"We have no ill feelings towards the Cable family. They have to have their own time to heal and we have to have our own time to grieve."

The family of Cable, of Laurel Grove, Bognor, shook their heads at the verdict and left immediately.

Mrs Heywood was a lonely woman whose marriage had broken up. Her children had gone to live with her former husband.

While living in a hostel in Winchester, Hampshire, Mrs Heywood met Bill Janes, with whom she fell in love. They became engaged.

She hoped it would be the start of a new life.

She booked into a bed and breakfast in Bognor days after Christmas last year and began making wedding plans.

But her fiance's circle of friends included petty criminals. Mr Janes himself had served time in Camp Hill prison, where he met Cable and Charles Parker.

When Mr Janes' friends found out Mrs Heywood had received £14,000 as a divorce settlement she became a target for theft.

The gang, including Cable, made her withdraw cash and drive to London to buy £1,000 worth of heroin.

When they stopped at a service station she went to the toilet and they drove off.

Several days later she bumped into Cable in the Family Tree pub in Bognor.

Angry at the theft, she yelled at Cable in front of the crowded pub and demanded to know where Mr Janes was.

Wanting to placate her, Cable offered her a room at his house. Mrs Heywood refused but agreed Cable could drive her to Winchester.

The journey would cost her her life. For Cable, it was a kidnap that went wrong.

Fellow drinking companion and former prison mate Mr Parker, of Clun Road, Littlehampton, was also in the pub and managed to borrow a car.

Cable drove the Fiesta, accompanied by friend Gary Putland, of Bognor, and Mr Parker, who sat in the back next to Mrs Heywood.

Instead of Hampshire, Cable headed into the Sussex Downs. He stopped the Fiesta in the middle of the Sussex countryside.

Cable pulled a knife and demanded cash from Mrs Heywood and threatened his two pals.

A fight broke out in the car. But as tensions rose they realised it was New Year's Day and the banks were closed.

They discussed keeping Mrs Heywood hostage until the banks reopened but fear of being prosecuted for kidnap drove Cable to strangle her with his bare hands.

The murderer dumped the body in nearby woodland where she lay undiscovered for more than three weeks.

Days after the murder, Cable and Matthew Mitchell, of Petworth, a man with a clean record, went to the local pub, The Star.

After a few beers, Cable told him he had killed a woman and buried her at a Sussex beauty spot.

Mr Mitchell did not believe Cable and tried to put it out of his mind.

But when he saw news coverage of a body found at the same place Cable had described he went to the police.

Later Mr Mitchell testified Cable had confessed to killing a woman with his bare hands.

Cable tried to blame Mr Janes and Mr Parker but the jury dismissed this.