A heartbroken woman last night challenged the ''depraved'' picture of her daughter, painted by the husband who killed her and dumped her body.

Mary Barclay, 61, was speaking after her son-in-law Niall McDonald had been found guilty of the culpable homicide of Mandy, mother of their children Jennifer, 12, and Catherine, nine.

She revealed that the two girls now wanted nothing to do with their father, who showed no emotion as the jury of nine women and six men took 90 minutes to clear him of murder, but convict him of the culpable homicide of his wife, partly caused by using the handle of a leather whip as a sex aid.

He was also convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice by dumping her body and trying to dispose of the evidence of the manner in which she had died. Lord Penrose deferred sentence until February 9 for social inquiry reports and released McDonald on bail.

McDonald had admitted that he had placed his arm his wife's neck in order to heighten her sexual pleasure, but claimed her death had been an accident.

However he put his children and his Mrs McDonald's parents through a week of unnecessary torture by claiming his wife had walked out of their home at Westhill, Aberdeen, after an argument.

''This man, Niall McDonald, knowing his wife was dead, set about the process of disposing of the evidence and therefore tried to defeat the ends of justice,'' Iain Armstrong, advocate depute, said in his address to the jury.

He said the manner in which McDonald had disposed of his wife's body had not ''been the actions of a man who had respect for his wife''.

Never had McDonald shown any remorse or grief, he claimed.

Mrs Barclay later broke down as she told of the agony as McDonald spun a web of lies for six days before confessing.

''Every moment I thought she was lying in a ditch. I thought she had taken an asthma attack. I thought she was lying there and no-one could find her. He put not only me but the whole family, everyone who cared for Mandy, and the children, through that.

''We didn't recognise the Mandy depicted in the papers. It was nothing like her.''

She said she did not hate her son-in-law, but wanted him to face up to what he had done.

''If he can face his guilt he has some chance of making something of the rest of his life.

''The people who read these reports are going to think of Mandy as someone who was totally depraved - that is not the case.''

She said the children now stayed with them and chose to do so: ''Both children decided they no longer wanted to be in contact with him. It has been a traumatic year. The oldest girl, Jenny, has suffered badly and Catherine has put on a brave face.''

Mrs Barclay sat through every day of the trial at the High Court in Forfar, listening to lurid claims about her daughter's sex life.

The jury was told that during a search of the house in Arnhall Drive police found a hardcore pornographic video, a wife-swapping contacts magazine, several computer generated indecent images, and a French maid's outfit. McDonald had claimed that he and his wife, who had been married for 13 years, frequently indulged in sex which involved the use of aids, including a whip, which she had kept in her bedside cabinet.

McDonald is now involved in a relationship with 18-year-old Sheila Gibb and Mrs Barclay said she was ''horrified'' to discover that.

Her husband John, who clasped her hand as she broke down, said: ''Our lives have been turned upside down since Mandy's death last year While we know nothing will bring Mandy back to us, we are very pleased with the guilty verdict and Niall McDonald will pay for what he did to our daughter. We hope this will be reflected in the sentence.''

McDonald has made clear that he intends to appeal against the conviction.