A man who doused petrol over his ex-girlfriend and set her alight has now been jailed for murder.
Leigh Pateman was handed a life sentence today with a minimum term of 23 years and 145 days after pleading guilty to the charge of murder following the death of 42-year-old Ellen Marshall.
This comes after he had initially received a 17 years and 10 month sentence forpouring the liquid over her as she sat in a chair before setting her alight at Firbeck Avenue, Skegness, during an argument in April 2021.
Pateman, 45, was handed the lower sentence in March 2022 after he admitted a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and it was initially hoped Ms Marshall would survive despite her horrific injuries.
But the Crown Prosecution Service brought a murder charge against Pateman after Ms Marshall died aged 43 in Nottingham City Hospital on March 11, 2023 – nearly two years on from the attack.
Leigh Pateman, 43, (pictured) doused Ellen in petrol as she sat in a chair before he ignited her with his lighter and left her for dead
Ellen Marshall, 43, (pictured) suffered burns over 80 to 90 per cent of the top half of her body in the sickening attack on April 22, 2021
Her daughter Paige Clarke, 25, (pictured) paid tribute to her in a Facebook post saying: ‘No more pain and suffering now mum.’
Marshall had suffered burns over 80 to 90 per cent of the top half of her body in the sickening attack while Pateman fled the scene on his bike and was found at his mother’s house, where he had gone to bed, covered in soot.
His face was left charred while Ms Marshall’s eyes were so severely damaged she struggled to breathe for herself.
The court heard how fire crews were called to Ms Marshall’s home at around 10.30pm on April 22 2021.
The living room was covered in black smoke and Ms Marshall was lying on the floor in ‘extreme pain’.
Prosecutor Sarah Knight said: ‘There was little hair left on her head. Her face was so badly burnt and scorched it was difficult to make out her facial features.
‘Her body was scorched where her clothes would have been.’
One eyewitness said they saw Pateman trying to pour water on Ms Marshall after the attack and another neighbour said they could hear Ms Marshall screaming in pain.
Following the death of Ms Marshall, her 25-year-old daughter Paige Clarke took to Facebook to say: ‘No more pain and suffering now mum.’
Wearing a white t-shirt, alcoholic Pateman pleaded guilty in November this year to the murder of Ellen Marshall after the initial charge of Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) with intent was superseded.
Detective Inspector Andy McWatt said: ‘This was a truly shocking and barbaric attack. 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 that they can feel some measure of closure that her killer has been sentenced for that crime.’
