The Australian Associated Press reported that a jury at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne found Frederick Boyle guilty of murdering his wife Edwina in 1983 and hiding her body in a 44-gallon drum on their property for 23 years.

Boyle, 58, of Carrum Downs, in Melbourne's south east, had denied murder, claiming he panicked when he found her dead in bed.

He and his wife emigrated to Australia from the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales in 1972.

Boyle had told his children that their mother had run off with another man.

During cross-examination by crown prosecutor Gavin Silbert, SC, Boyle said he did not report his wife's death, fearing he would be charged with her murder because he was having an affair with another woman.

Boyle said during the trial that he made up a story about his wife leaving him for a truck driver and hid her body in a drum for 23 years.

His dark secret was uncovered by his son-in-law during a clean-up of the family home in October 2006 when he opened the drum and found a hessian bag and women's clothing.

Two weeks later he found the same bag inside a wheelie bin in the garage of the house and discovered Mrs Boyle's decomposed remains inside.

The Boyles' eldest daughter Careesa, 35, sobbed into the arms of her partner as her father looked across the court and whispered some consoling words to her as the verdict was announced.