A FORMER monkey keeper who murdered his love rival and dumped his body in sand dunes has died weeks after being released from prison.
John Campbell, 73, was told he must spend at least 16 years behind bars for battering Robert Rose to death on Sanday, Orkney, in June 2009.
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He was found guilty of murdering the Yorkshireman after he began a relationship with Campbell’s former flame.
Cops recovered the body of Mr Rose, 54, in sand dunes after a two-week search operation.
Campbell’s accomplice Stephen Crummack was later found guilty of culpable homicide.
The killer is understood to have passed away on Sunday following a cancer diagnosis.
A source told the Daily Record: “He was released from prison on compassionate grounds last year because he had cancer.
“He died on Sunday. It’s the talk of the village where his family still stays.”
A trial in 2010 heard how Campbell had threatened to kill Mr Rose after he began seeing Campbell’s ex-partner Margaret Johnston.
Campbell and Crummack killed the victim in his own home, before burying his body in sand dunes.
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Both were convicted of defeating the ends of justice by concealing Mr Rose’s body and making it look as though he had left the island.
Lord Turnbull told Campbell during sentencing: “You have been convicted of his murder, motivated it seems by your dislike of him and your reaction to his involvement with your former partner.
“You still protest your innocence. You lied to the police and made considerable efforts to make sure his body was not discovered.
“Despite all your efforts, you were undone by your inability not to boast about your conduct to a fellow inmate.”
Campbell was sentenced to life in prison and told he must serve at least 16 years before being considered for parole.
Crummack was jailed for 11 years in total – 10 years for the culpable homicide and an additional year for the second charge.