Paul Taylor has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum 18 years, after being found guilty of murdering Sally McGrath from Peterborough.
Taylor was also found guilty of a number of serious sexual offences.
A jury at Chelmsford Crown Court found former builder Paul Taylor, 60, guilty of murder after 23 hours of deliberation.
He was found guilty of three counts of rape, one attempted rape and a serious sexual assault, which were all committed in the months leading up to Miss McGrath's murder.
Mr Justice Owen told Taylor:
– Mr Justice Owen"You have finally been brought to justice and you will now serve life in prison."
Taylor is due to be sentenced tomorrow.
For more on this story see the ITV Anglia website.
A man has been found guilty of the murder of a Peterborough woman 30 years after her death.
Former builder Paul Taylor, 60, who was described during his trial as a "sexual predator" killed Sally McGrath after meeting her in a hotel in July 1979.
Sally was aged 22 when she died, her body was found on March 1 1980 partially buried and naked except for a pair of boots in woodland to the east of Peterborough.
For more on the trial see here.
The jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering a woman in Peterborough more than 30 years ago has retired to consider its verdict.
The naked body of Sally McGrath, 22, was found in a shallow grave in woodland near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, after she vanished in July 1979.
Former soldier and builder Paul Taylor, 60, originally from Peterborough and now living in Fareham, Hampshire, was arrested last year.
ITV Anglia has more.
Prosecution describes Paul Taylor as a "sexual predator" willing to use violence to get his own way.
Taylor's been charged with three counts of rape, one attempted rape, one serious sexual assault one indecent assault and one murder, against four separate women from 1979 and 1980.
The trial is expected to last for eight weeks.
The jury of eight women and four men has been sworn in.
Taylor denies the charges.
A "sexual predator" who targeted young women committed a violent murder which went unsolved for more than 30 years, a prosecutor has said.
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