A person has been discovered responsible of murdering his girlfriend, who died greater than 20 years after he poured petrol on her and set her on fireplace, leaving her with horrific burns.
Steven Paul Craig, 57, served 15 years in jail for attacking Jacqueline Kirk, who was badly injured however survived the assault in Somerset in 1998.
Following Friday’s trial, he has now been remanded in custody and might be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on 9 November.
Ms Kirk died in August 2019 aged 62 after struggling a ruptured diaphragm.
Craig was charged along with her homicide because the prosecution argued she died “as a result in part of” her accidents.
Jurors needed to determine whether or not the burns Ms Kirk suffered performed a “significant part in the cause of her death”.
Ms Kirk suffered critical burns from the assault in Dolphin Square in Weston-super-Mare 24 years in the past. Craig tied her to a chair and set her on fireplace whereas enacting a Reservoir Dogs fantasy.
Her accidents lined 35% of her physique, together with her face, neck, chest, torso, thighs and buttocks.
‘What he did to her was horrendous’
Mark Almond, Detective Chief Inspector on the Major Crime Investigation Team, Avon and Somerset Police, described the case as “unusual”, as a result of period of time that handed between Ms Kirk’s accidents and her loss of life.
But he added: “What he did to her was horrendous and had a profound effect on her and her family.
“While she managed to see many vital milestones, her life was nonetheless minimize quick by the accidents attributable to Craig, and it was solely proper that he was held absolutely accountable.”
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Original sentence did not reflect Craig’s ‘appalling actions’
Speaking after the verdict, Andrew Pritchard of the Crown Prosecution Service said Craig had now been held responsible for the “full penalties” of his actions.
“When Stephen Craig was jailed in 2000 for inflicting grievous bodily hurt with intent to Jacqueline Kirk, nobody knew that his actions would finally result in Jacqueline’s loss of life,” Mr Pritchard said.
“As a consequence, the unique sentence he served didn’t mirror the total penalties of his appalling actions.”
After the verdict was delivered, Ms Kirk’s family shouted “sure” and started to cry.
Ms Kirk’s daughter, Sonna, explained how the family were originally advised she would not survive the attack, as she praised the first responders and all those involved in providing her mother medical care.
“If it wasn’t for them, we would not have had the additional 21 years, and we’re very, very grateful for all of the arduous work they did,” she said.
“Most individuals would describe her as cussed, and that is principally seen as a destructive factor, however for her, it was a really optimistic factor,” she added.
“It stored her going, and it received her stronger, and it received her to be Jackie,” she stated.
What did prosecutors argue?
During the trial, prosecutor Richard Smith KC informed the courtroom Ms Kirk’s extreme burns performed a “significant” half in her loss of life years later.
He argued Ms Kirk died as a result of her pores and skin was now not in a position to stretch far sufficient to accommodate the swelling of her intestines.
The prosecution additionally claimed her accidents had been the explanation docs determined to not function to restore the diaphragm and subsequently save her life.
Mr Smith added that these weren’t the one causes for the advanced medical scenario during which she died, however they “played a part.”
What did the defence declare?
The defence argued this might not be confirmed.
Defence lawyer, Christopher Tehrani KC, argued Ms Kirk’s stomach was solely partly scarred and was “capable of stretching”.
He added that surgeons based mostly their resolution to not function on her partially because of unrelated “co-morbidities”, together with a coronary heart downside.
Craig, of Brailsford Road, York, denied the homicide cost and was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily hurt to Ms Kirk in 2000 – that means the homicide trial was restricted to medical proof.
Source: information.sky.com”