Millionaire banker who killed wife in a jealous rage is back in the home where he strangled her with their two children after just three years in jail

Ellerbeck

Just four years after he killed his wife in a jealous rage, a millionaire banker is out of jail and back living with their two children at the family home where he strangled her.

Neil Ellerbeck, 49, has moved into the smart suburban house where he took his wife Kate's life after she asked for a divorce.

Mr Ellerbeck, who earned £170,000 as HSBC's global chief of investment, feared losing his two children, £650,000 home and £1.3million fortune in the break-up.

He lashed out after bugging her phone calls and reading her texts, discovering she had been having an affair with her son's tennis coach as well as having 'close friendships' with a childhood sweetheart and a chef at the Ritz.

She received 43 separate injuries in the attack in November 2008, around 18 of which were on her face.

After his furious assault, Ellerbeck collected their ten-year-old daughter from a school entrance exam.

He later insisted his 46-year-old wife had been alive when he left her.

During his Old Bailey trial three years ago, it emerged he had been having an affair himself during the troubled 14-year marriage.

He was acquitted of murder but jailed for eight years for manslaughter after a jury accepted he did not intend to kill his wife.

Time spent in custody awaiting trial and his good behaviour means he served a total of four years behind bars.

Ellerbeck with his wife kate

He moved back into the family home in Enfield, North London, after his release last month.

He has been seen moving flat-pack furniture into the property, now believed to be worth around £800,000, which he shares with his son, 17, and daughter, 14.

Yesterday, he said: 'It's early days. I'm just trying to get settled back with the children.

'It's too early to say whether we will stay here. 'We might move on but I don't know yet.' Some of his neighbours were shocked to hear he had returned to the family home.

'One, who did not want to be named, said: 'It's quite scary. I can't believe he's back living with the children.

'When you hear about what he did, Its pretty worrying to know he is living here.' Before the killing, Mr Ellerbeck, described by police as a jealous and possessive man, was having a long relationship with a former colleague. But then he spied on his wife and found out she had been having an affair with tennis coach Pat McAdam.

The court was told he had bugged her phone calls and kept 127 hours of recordings. Mrs Ellerbeck's sister, estate agent Sue Reed, and Mr McAdam, both objected to Mr Ellerbeck moving back to Enfield. A close friend of Mrs Reed said: 'Sue still has great affection for Mrs Ellerbeck's children.

She looked after them for the best part of a year when Neil was arrested and remanded in custody. Sue wants to remain on good terms and would never speak out about what happened.

'But she is horrified that Neil has moved back to the home where he killed Kate and shows no signs of wanting to move. 'More baffling to her is why Neil would want to move back to the house where his wife died in a violent struggle with him and want to carry on raising the children there as if nothing had happened. It is cold and bizarre.'

Mr McAdam, 50, last night hit out at the legal system that has allowed Mr Ellerbeck to begin rebuilding his life after just four years behind bars, adding: 'He destroyed Kate's life, left two children without a mother and caused untold anguish to Kate's sister, family and myself.

'Yet when I asked victim liaison questions about his release, I kept being told the probation service was trying to make his life as "normal as possible" now that he is out.

I had hoped he would not be allowed back to the home where Kate died.' Mr McAdam has been campaigning to change the law to make it harder for  people sentenced for serious crimes to be released early.

He said: 'Because he's served half of his sentence, he has no need to wear an electronic tag, or report regularly to police, all apparently because of  this desire to let him lead a normal life.

'I will never be able to lead  a normal life  again and nor will other people involved in  this case who knew and  loved Kate.'

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