John Bowie has been found guilty of murdering his wife Roxlyn in Walgett 40 years ago.

After just four-and-a-half hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict in the Bowie murder trial in the New South Wales Supreme Court.

John Bowie, 72, stood accused of murdering his wife Roxlyn on or about June 5, 1982, while the couple lived in Walgett in north-west New South Wales with their two young children. Her body has never been found.

The jury heard four weeks of crown witnesses before finding the accused guilty.

More to come.