A man was sentenced to life in prison in England for causing the death of his partner, who suffered burns to more than 80 percent of her body when he set her on fire.
The terrible events happened in April 2021. After an argument, Leigh Pateman He emptied a can of gasoline to his partner Ellen Marshall while she was sitting in an armchair in her home and set it on fire, Lincolnshire police reported in a statement.
The cowardly man fled on a bicycle to his mother’s house, where he went to sleep covered in soot.
The sentence he received after being arrested, pleading guilty and being tried for the assault was 17 years and 10 months, but has now increased to at least 27 years, because Ellen died as a result of burns. that intentionally provoked him.
Since the attack, Ellen’s life has never been the same; He spent his life between hospitals and nursing homes, until he tragically died from his injuries on March 11, 2023.
Her daughter, Paige Clarke, said in a statement read in court: “The physical, mental and emotional pain that my mother had to go through is almost impossible to put into words…my mother will never be able to hold her first grandchild.”
In addition, she said that her mother spent a year without looking in the mirror, because she couldn’t stand looking at herself.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, which handles all public prosecutions in England and Wales, Pateman had “repeatedly threatened to kill her” setting it on fire during previous discussions.
Judge Simon Hirst said he was satisfied there was a significant degree of planning by Pateman and a pattern of “terrorizing” Ms Marshall in the weeks before the attack.
Ellen Marshall was found in her home still conscious, screaming in extreme pain, on the living room floor, which was covered in black smoke. When he arrived at the hospital, 80-90% of his body was burned.
The pain of attack and death
Prosecutor Sarah Knight said: “There was little hair left on his head…His face was so burned that it was difficult to make out his facial features…His body was burned where his clothes should have been.”
The doctors They gave him less than a 50% chance of survival. even after 12 hours of surgery.
Pateman pleaded guilty to setting his partner on fire, while his defense stated that on several occasions he had deeply regretted what Marshall had suffered, and that “he was taking steps to deal with a lifetime of alcohol dependency,” the BBC noted. .
Judge Hirst told Pateman: “The cause of Ms Marshall’s death was pneumonia as a result of the injuries you inflicted on her.”
“The evidence, provided by medical experts, was clear. Without this horrific attack and the terrible injuries she suffered, Ms Marshall would never have suffered the illness that caused her death. Pateman has now faced the full consequences of his criminal actions that night in 2021,” said Paul Wright, of the Crown Prosecution Service.
“Leigh Pateman had already admitted that he was solely responsible for the attack and that his intention was to cause very serious harm by doing so. Mrs. Marshall may have survived the attack, but He spent the two years until his death in intense pain”he added.
“My deepest condolences to the family of Ellen Marshall, who have had to endure not only the loss of a loved one in this way, but also the unimaginable mental, physical and emotional pain that Ms. Marshall suffered,” he concluded.
a little justice
For his part, Detective Inspector Andy McWatt hopes that Ellen’s family has received some comfort in considering that justice was served with the sentence given to her attacker.
“His family had to watch a loved one suffer horrific injuries for almost two years. “I hope you can feel some relief knowing that his murderer has been sentenced for that crime,” he said.
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