A man has been sentenced to a further 15 years in prison – in addition to the 18 he has already served – for setting his partner on fire and causing her death 21 years later.
Steven Craig, 58, covered Jacqueline Kirk in petrol and set her alight in a car park in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset in April 1998.
He served more than 18 years in prison for the attack but following her death in August 2019 he was arrested again and charged with her murder. He was found guilty of that charge by a jury at Bristol Crown Court last month.
At sentencing on Thursday, Judge Mrs Justice Stacey described Craig’s conduct as “sadistic” and the attack as “planned and premeditated”, handing him a total minimum term of 34 years.
“Your conduct was sadistic – deliberately setting her head and chest on fire the way you did,” she told him.
“Anyone who uses petrol must be aware of the level of seriousness of their actions. It was just so callous and so brutal.”
She added: “You had no intention to kill Jacquie. But in your case this has reduced significance almost to vanishing point, because the risk of her dying from what you did to her was so obvious.”
Craig’s trial heard that the 1998 attack resulted in 35% burns to Ms Kirk’s body and left her needing 14 operations, including skin grafts and a tracheotomy.
She lived to the age of 61 and was able to see both of her children get married and become a grandmother.
But she died the day after she was admitted to the Royal Bath Hospital in 2019, with doctors refusing to operate on her due to her frailty.
Victim was ‘remarkable and impressive woman’
Mrs Justice Stacey paid tribute to Ms Kirk, who was only expected to live for 10 years due to her injuries, but “against the odds survived for more than twice of that”.
“With the help of her family, she was determined to lead as full a life as she could,” she said. “What a remarkable and impressive woman she must have been.”
But due to the extent of her injuries, it was a “demi-life”, that left her suicidal at times, she said.
“She was always in pain and suffered from depression and nightmares.
“Her injuries and disfigurement were horrific. Breathing was difficult, eating and drinking were hard.
“She suffered abuse in the street because of the extent of her facial scarring.”
Enjoyed watching torture scene in Reservoir Dogs
Detailing the run-up to the 1998 attack, the judge said Ms Kirk had taken Craig into her home when he was homeless and struggling with drink and drugs.
After the pair entered into a relationship he was often violent, “cracking her cheekbone” on one occasion, and “frequently threatening to kill her”.
Three days before the petrol attack, he had locked her in a railway station toilet, leaving her trapped for hours before a cleaner let her go.
Craig often watched a torture scene from the film Reservoir Dogs, the judge said, adding: “You enjoyed acting like the characters in the film.”
The couple were travelling from Bath to Plymouth when they stopped in Weston-super-Mare, the court heard.
During the car journey, Craig tortured Ms Kirk with a fake story that a hired assassin called “Charlie” from York was coming to kill her.
“She was very scared, because she knew your capacity for violence,” Mrs Stacey said.
“There is no doubt that you planned to engage in a monstrous attack on that road trip with whatever means at your disposal.”
After stopping at a petrol station to fill a coke bottle with fuel, Craig punched Ms Kirk in the face and poured the petrol over her head.
She got out of the car, believing it would be safer, and he taunted her by asking if she wanted a cigarette.
Ms Kirk was set alight by a lighter and dropped to the ground, the court heard.
When police became involved Craig “lied” to them, the judge said, and was more concerned for his own safety than his victim’s.
Previous convictions, including rape and GBH of another partner
After spending seven months in hospital and hearing he had committed rape and grievous bodily harm against another woman he was in a relationship with, Ms Kirk told police what happened, the court heard.
Craig, who will have to serve a minimum of 15 years before being considered for release by the parole board, had a string of previous convictions.
His trial was told he was addicted to drugs by the time he was 21 and despite expressing a “desire to practice abstinence” while in prison, had often blamed alcohol and sometimes his victims for his crimes.
Prosecutor Richard Smith KC had told the jury they did not need to find Ms Kirk’s injuries were the main cause of her death – just that the contribution made by them was “more than minimal”.
Craig admitted responsibility for the attack – but not her death.
If he is ever released he will be on licence for the rest of his life.