 Carol Park went missing on 17 July 1976 , and was never seen alive again by her family . In 1997 , her body was discovered by divers in Coniston Water and Gordon was arrested on suspicion of murder . The charges were subsequently dropped but in 2004 Gordon was arrested again and found guilty of his wife 's murder . The trial judge sentenced him to life imprisonment and recommended that he should serve a minimum of 15 years before being considered for parole . He was held at Garth prison , <unk> , Preston . In December 2007 he lodged an appeal against his conviction which was dismissed in November 2008 . On 25 January 2010 , he was found hanged in his cell , and pronounced dead at the scene . 
