A “sugar daddy” killer has today sold the sprawling castle where he murdered his young lover.
Millionaire property developer Peter Morgan, 58, strangled lover Georgina Symonds, 25, at Pencoed Castle in Llanmartin, South Wales in 2016.
A mystery buyer splashed out £1.1 million at auction for the 16th-century property despite its chilling past.
Morgan – who is worth £20m – was jailed for life in December 2016 for strangling Ms Symonds with a homemade ligature after he found out she was planning to “fleece him” and work for other men.
After killing the £10K-a-month escort, the businessman wrapped her body in polythene and dumped it in a workshop at his martial home.
He later confessed to officers that he had “intentions to kill her” after fearing she was going to blackmail him after he heard her on a listening device say she was going to leave him and work in London.
Georgina had been living at a bungalow in the grounds of her ‘sugar daddy’s’ 16th century castle – which went under the hammer with Morgan behind bars.
The castle was bought by Morgan for £1.7m after it was put up for sale for £2.5m in 2001.
He dreamed of converting it into a luxury holiday home mixed with business units on the historic site.
He previously said: “There is no way we would consider splitting the castle into apartments it needs to be left as one.”
But his plans crumbled after he started his affair with Ms Symonds.
Morgan was jailed for life, with a minimum of 25 years, for the “carefully planned and calmly executed” murder, which a judge said was done “in cold anger”.
Justice Neil Garnham QC refused to accept Morgan’s defence that he suffered from Asperger Syndrome and had no option but to kill Georgina because of a loss of control.
He said Morgan put a towel over Georgina’s face while he strangled her with a ligature made from bailing twine before hiding her body in a farm building.
Morgan had kept his tryst with the former burlesque dancer a secret from his family – including his dad, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Gwent, David Morgan.
He lavished the mum-of-one with spa days, helicopter rides and shopping trips as well as £10,000 a month spending money, while living with wife Helen and their two teen daughters.
One of his purchases was the 45-room castle where Georgina was able to live rent-free.
He bugged the property and admitted listening to her conversations more than 500 times before murdering her.
His company put the property up for sale for a reduced price while serving out his sentence – with a guide price of £950,000.
But it was sold at by auctioneers Alsopp for £1,110,000 after a flurry of late bids.
The auctioneers said they could not reveal the buyer.
There is planning permission in place to restore the castle, convert the outbuildings to offices and develop 12 new dwellings.
The auctioneers said the total area of the site is 64.8 acres.
A spokesman said: “Extensive Shops, Bars and Restaurants are located nearby in Newport and Newport Rail Station is situated 8 miles to the west.
“The property has easy Access onto the M4 Motorway”
