CLIVE Sharp has admitted murdering vet Catherine Gowing.
Sentence was adjourned but Sharp was told by a judge he may never be released.
Only some of the Irish woman’s remains have been recovered by police.
Sharp, 46, entered the secure dock at Mold Crown Court yesterday and admitted her murder.
The defendant, originally from Sealand on Deeside but who had an address at Coed y Parc Industrial Estate, Bethesda in Gwynedd, was remanded in custody pending sentence by Mr Justice Griffith-Williams and will be sentenced on February 25.
The judge said he would not need pre-sentence or psychiatric reports and said clearly there could only be one sentence, that of life imprisonment.
But the minimum term he would have to serve was an important consideration upon which he needed time to reflect.
“There are a number of concerns about this case which lead me to the view that I should have time to reflect upon it,” he said.
The judge said he appreciated the delay would add to the upset and tension of the family and loved ones but he said careful assessment would have to be made.
He asked for a complete factual picture of the defendant’s previous convictions and previous reports “where he expresses his fantasies”.
The judge told Sharp: “There is only one sentence I can pass on you for this offence, as you will know.
“I have to work out what the minimum term you will serve is before the parole board consider you for release – if you are ever to be released.”
Miss Gowing, 37, originally from County Offaly in the Republic of Ireland, but who lived with a work colleague in New Brighton near Mold, worked at a local veterinary centre.
Her murder is said to have taken place sometime between October 11 and October 17 in North Wales.
Sharp, dressed in a grey top and trousers, said nothing during the eight minute hearing apart from confirming his name.
When the charge was put to him he pleaded guilty.
Elwen Evans QC, defending, said Sharp pleaded guilty without any basis of plea.
Members of Miss Gowing’s family attended court supported by a family liaison officer.
Her sister, Emma Maguire, sat feet from the killer and looked intently at him for most of the hearing.
l Irish-born Miss Gowing had not been seen since a sighting of her on CCTV at the Asda supermarket in Queensferry on Friday, October 12.
North Wales Police found her burnt out car close to a disused quarry at Alltami, less than two miles from her home.
An extensive search of the area around the quarry and its pool was carried out by specialist police teams, including divers.
Her remains, which were buried in her home town, were found in two separate areas, at Sealand and by the River Dee, close to Chester.
Reaction to Clive Sharp's plea
CLIVE Sharp’s guilty plea to the murder of Mold vet Catherine Gowing was met with both relief and anger.
Some of those who knew the Irish 37-year-old, who lived in New Brighton, Mold called for Sharp to die in prison.
Catherine’s boss Esmor Evans of DE Evans veterinary surgery in Mold called him “a monster”.
Mr Evans said: “I am just glad that it’s over and it should bring things to a swift conclusion now there won’t be a trial. He’s at least admitted what he’s done.
“The feeling in the surgery is that this man is a monster and should never be allowed out.
“No other human being should ever be exposed to him.
“The hearing has brought things back again – the tragedy that has happened and how much we still miss Catherine.”
Catherine’s neighbour Alan Garside, of Cae Isa, New Brighton, said: “I think quite honestly he should get life and that means whole life, not 10 or 20 years, whole life.
“Personally, I am of the old school and believe really he should be hanged.
“What he’s done is appalling. It’s unspeakable. To do that to the poor girl and then destroy everything else. How could he do it?
“He’s butchered her and quite honestly I don’t think he should ever be back on the streets.”