Northants Police officer who murdered wife sacked during short hearing at force HQ

Adrian ‘Otis’ Goldsmith was found guilty of murder by a unanimous jury following a trial at Stafford Crown Court in January.

Goldsmith has been given a life sentence in prison and must serve a minimum of 15 years in jail.

A disciplinary hearing was held at Wootton Hall today (Friday) to decide whether to dismiss Goldsmith, who has worked for the force for the past 28 years.

A panel, chaired by chief constable Simon Edens, heard Goldsmith was guilty of discreditable conduct and had damaged the reputation of Northants Police and undermined public confidence in the force.

The panel heard the high-profile nature of the murder case had resulted in negative publicity to the force and discredited the police service.

Mr Edens, who expressed his sympathies to the friends and family of Jill Goldsmith, said: “Jill died in her own home at the hands of her husband.

“As chief constable, I am responsible for leading an organisation that is committed to protecting people from harm. We are particularly committed to protecting people from violence in their own homes.

“As an officer of Northamptonshire Police, PC Goldsmith represented the force, and his actions were a gross betrayal of the force’s values as well as society’s standards.

“His actions leave me with no other conclusion than to say he is not fit to be a police officer and is therefore dismissed without notice from the police service..

Goldsmith, who was represented by a police federation representative, offered no mitigation and admitted the misconduct charges against him.