Guilty: Killer who callously disposed of woman’s body in his shed

A man who killed a woman before callously disposing of her body in his garden shed has been found guilty of murder following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Christopher Barlow, 62, initially claimed that 55-year-old Mariann Borocz had never been in his house and that he had no idea how her body ended up in his shed.

After the prosecution put forward forensic evidence which showed Barlow’s DNA on Ms Borocz’s clothes and left breast, Barlow changed his story at trial, claiming he found her dead and unclothed in his kitchen, panicked and put her in the shed before placing her clothes in the bin.

Rebecca Macaulay-Addison, Specialist Prosecutor for CPS North West’s Complex Casework Unit, said: “Christopher Barlow killed Mariann Borocz and stripped her of her clothes, before callously disposing of her body in his shed.

“He took steps to prevent Ms Borocz’s body being found at his address by lying to his friend and cancelling his cleaner so neither would attend his house. When police spoke to him as part of their missing person enquiries, he lied to them also denying he had ever met her.

“When Ms Borocz’s body was found in his shed, he claimed to have no knowledge of her being there, nor any involvement in her death. He has shown no remorse for his actions and continually changed his account.

“Having heard the compelling evidence presented by the Crown Prosecution Service, the jury found Barlow guilty of murder.

“Our thoughts remain with Ms Borocz’s family for the loss they have endured, and we hope today’s conviction will provide some sense of justice for this unspeakable crime.”

Mariann Borocz was reported missing by her family on 15 December 2024.

Following police enquiries, CCTV was recovered showing Ms Borocz leaving her home on the morning of 14 December 2024, before going to a shop on Chorley Old Road.

Inside the shop she met Christopher Barlow, and the two left the shop together.

The last sighting of Ms Borocz was at 9.30am that day as she and Barlow turned into Pedder Street, where Barlow lives.

Police trawled local CCTV which led them to Barlow, who resembled the man Ms Borocz left the shop with.

On 21 December, one week after Ms Borocz was first reported missing, Barlow spoke to police at his address where he lied about an encounter he had with Ms Borocz which was captured on CCTV.

Following further enquiries, Barlow was arrested on 23 December 2024.

When asked for keys to his shed, he claimed he didn’t have one, and also claimed that his mobile phone had been stolen.

Police later found the key to the shed on Barlow’s keyring and his mobile phone was recovered from under his pillow.

Ms Borocz’s unclothed body was discovered in Barlow’s shed, some nine days after she was last seen leaving the shop with him.

Her clothing was found in a bin within Barlow’s yard, along with her mobile phone, handbag and passport.

There had been no activity on Ms Borocz’s phone since the morning of 14 December 2024.

The prosecution put forward forensic evidence at trial which supported the fact that Barlow’s DNA was on the clothes found in the bin. Barlow’s DNA was also found on Ms Borocz’s left breast.

A sock found upstairs in Barlow’s home was found to have DNA matching Ms Borocz.

Barlow’s phone was checked, and messages were recovered suggesting that he was trying to prevent Ms Borocz’s body being found. He had cancelled his cleaner, claiming he was ill and told a friend he was working all weekend, which was later found to be untrue.

Ms Barocz’s postmortem confirmed that there were no injuries consistent with a fall or blow that would have caused death. There was also no evidence of a recent traumatic head injury, brain injury, heart attack or stroke.

The prosecution’s case was that Barlow had caused her death, soon after she arrived in his home, with the intention of causing her at least serious harm.

Having heard the evidence put forward by the Crown Prosecution Service, the jury at Manchester Crown Court found Barlow guilty of Ms Borocz's murder on 28 August 2025.

He will be sentenced at a later date.