A man in the United Kingdom has been sentenced to life imprisonment for an attack on his partner, who died from severe burns two years after he poured petrol on her and set her alight.
Leigh Pateman, aged 45, had previously been sentenced to 17 years and 10 months for grievous bodily harm with intent. However, in November, he admitted to the murder of Ellen Marshall, who succumbed to her injuries on 11 March 2023.
Emergency services were called to the couple’s property on Firbeck Avenue, Skegness, England, on the evening of 22 April 2021. During an argument, Pateman poured petrol into Ms Marshall’s lap and set her on fire.
Appearing via video link from HMP Garth, Pateman, dressed in a grey T-shirt, was handed a minimum term of 23 years and 145 days by Judge Simon Hirst at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday.
The court heard that Pateman told police he was “messing about” and flicking his lighter to “scare her” when the fire ignited. He fled the scene on his bicycle.
Firefighters arriving at the property encountered “black smoke” and found Ms Marshall on the floor making a “gurgling” sound, the court was told.
Prosecutor Sarah Knight detailed the severity of Ms Marshall’s injuries, stating that the mother-of-four was left with “little hair on her head” and that her face was “radically altered” by the burns.
“She sustained profoundly serious, life-altering injuries, including 80% full-thickness burns to her torso, face, and limbs, requiring extensive skin grafts,” Ms Knight said.
Ms Marshall, aged 43 at the time of her death, also lost fingers and had limited movement in the years following the attack. Her cause of death was recorded as pneumonia and the long-term effects of the burns.
“The cause of death is a direct consequence of the burns she sustained,” Ms Knight told the court.
The court heard that Pateman had traits of a mixed personality disorder, had suffered from alcohol dependency since the age of nine or ten, and was a regular drug user.
A witness who shared the multiple-occupancy property with the couple testified that Pateman had said he was “going to set Ellen alight and pour petrol all over her” a few days before the attack, but she dismissed the threat as a “joke.”
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Marshall’s daughter, Paige Clarke, reflected on her mother’s suffering and their family’s loss.
“My mum deserved better. She became weaker and weaker as the days went by, and even then she was so strong,” Ms Clarke wrote. “She lost all her independence. Her physical appearance changed so much she was unrecognisable. Eventually, her body just could not take it anymore.”
Defending Pateman, Katherine Goddard KC stated: “I have been instructed on the remorse Mr Pateman feels for his actions and the consequences to Ms Marshall and her family. They were far beyond what he intended, and he has had many years to accept the enormity of his actions and their consequences.”
Judge Simon Hirst, addressing Pateman, said: “You threatened to set her alight and pour petrol over her. On other occasions, you threatened to kill Ms Marshall. This is not a sudden outburst of temper in an otherwise healthy relationship.
“Whenever a person over the age of 21 is convicted of murder, the court is required to sentence the defendant to imprisonment for life. That is the position for you.”
Detective Inspector Andy McWatt of Lincolnshire Police described the attack as “truly shocking and barbaric.” He added: “I cannot begin to imagine how much fear she must have felt, and how painful the rest of Ellen’s life was. Her family had to watch someone they love suffer from terrible injuries for almost two years. I hope they can feel some measure of closure that her killer has been sentenced for that crime.”
