A WINSFORD-BASED police officer charged with the murder of his fiancée has resigned from Cheshire Constabulary.
PC Martin Forshaw, known to colleagues as ‘Alex’ Forshaw, is accused of killing 31-year-old bride-to-be Claire Howarth by inflicting head injuries and then staging a car crash.
The 26-year-old was based at Cheshire police HQ on Oakmere Road, Winsford. The couple were due to get married in St Lucia in the Caribbean this month.
A police statement issued on Monday morning said: “Cheshire Constabulary can confirm that at the time of the incident (crash) on Tottington Road, Harwood (near Bolton) on May 7, Martin Forshaw, known as Alex, was a serving Cheshire officer.
“PC Forshaw joined the constabulary in November 2003 and was initially posted to Macclesfield before taking up a post at police headquarters on December 22, 2006, as part of a central team providing uniformed operational support.
“On Saturday, May 9, Cheshire Constabulary accepted PC Forshaw’s resignation from the force.”
Miss Howarth, a PC for Greater Manchester Police, was in a BMW which crashed on May 7 in Harwood.
A post-mortem examination revealed she died from head injuries – but her injuries were not consistent with the collision, a police source said.
Forshaw appeared at Bolton Magistrates Court on Monday and was remanded in custody. He is due to appear at Manchester Crown Court on Monday, May 18.
