British paraglider murder: Killer's jailing leaves wife 'relieved'

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Steve NashImage source, Family handout/PA
Image caption,
Steve Nash had been flying since 1990 and had competed in several extreme adventure races

The wife of a British paraglider who was murdered while travelling in Mongolia has said she is "relieved" his killer has been jailed.

Fifty-three-year-old Steve Nash, from Helsby in Cheshire, was killed in a robbery while crossing the Khangai mountains in September 2016.

Gantulga Batsukh was found guilty of murder and given 16 years in jail on Friday, the Nash family's lawyers said.

His wife Shirley said Batsukh "ended Steve's life [and] ended mine too".

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
The Khangai mountains lie 250 miles (400km) west of Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar

The 53-year-old and his friend Gareth Aston had been in Mongolia for a hiking and paragliding trip from Uliastai to Tsetserleg, which lie west of the country's capital Ulaanbaatar.

Mr Nash decided to continue solo after Mr Aston was injured.

Mrs Nash became concerned when her husband's satellite tracking device did not update and showed him stopped in a valley.

Image caption,
Steve Nash was travelling west of Tsetserleg when he was attacked

Following Batsukh's trial in Mongolia, the Nash family's lawyer, Kieran Mitchell, said the loss of Mr Nash "this way far from home has been difficult for them to come to terms with".

Mrs Nash said she had lost "my husband and my best friend", adding: "I feel so alone and lost and my whole life is pointless without him."

"It is so unfair; not just on us, but on Steve himself," she said.

"He was a true gentleman who loved life and lived every minute to the full, showing kindness and respect to everyone he met.

"Nothing will ever bring Steve back but we are relieved that his killer has now been brought to justice."