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Kristopher Mitchell jailed for Jessica Watkins murder | Kristopher Mitchell jailed for Jessica Watkins murder |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A Newport man has been jailed for life after he stabbed and strangled his girlfriend as she lay in the bath. | |
Jessica Watkins, 21, suffered 27 stab wounds in the frenzied attack by 28-year-old Kristopher Mitchell in May. | |
Mitchell was jailed for a minimum of 16 years and eight months after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing at Cardiff Crown Court. | |
Miss Watkins's family said they are still grieving and are disappointed with the length of the sentence. | |
'Horrific' | |
Senior investigating officer in the case, Det Chf Insp Roger Fortey said Miss Watkins was "brutally attacked". | |
Miss Watkins was strangled and stabbed repeatedly after locking herself in the bathroom of Mitchell's Bryn Bevan home following an argument between the pair. | |
The detective said the row started after a night in the pub about whether to spend their money on more alcohol or buy a takeaway. | |
Mitchell managed to get into the bathroom and attacked his partner of just a couple of months. | |
"As was outlined in the case, there were 27 stab wounds following the strangulation - that's a sustained attack and was a horrific thing for her to be subjected to," said DCI Fortey. | |
Mitchell was arrested at home the following day after showing a friend what he had done. | |
Life cut short | Life cut short |
DCI Fortey added: "Jessica had a loving family and at just age 21, a long life ahead of her, this was cruelly cut short as a result of Mitchell's actions. | |
"Our thoughts remain with Jessica's family at this difficult time. | "Our thoughts remain with Jessica's family at this difficult time. |
"Although today's sentence will not ease their pain or sense of loss, I hope it will provide a little comfort to them as they move on with their lives." | "Although today's sentence will not ease their pain or sense of loss, I hope it will provide a little comfort to them as they move on with their lives." |
Following the sentencing, Miss Watkins's family released a statement. | Following the sentencing, Miss Watkins's family released a statement. |
They said: "Five months ago our world was turned upside down when Jess was cruelly taken from us. | They said: "Five months ago our world was turned upside down when Jess was cruelly taken from us. |
"We hope from today we can put a small bit of closure on this tragedy. No sentence will bring Jessie back but we had hoped for a more severe sentence." | "We hope from today we can put a small bit of closure on this tragedy. No sentence will bring Jessie back but we had hoped for a more severe sentence." |