A man who killed his girlfriend, then watched football on TV as her dead body lay near him in her Fife flat, has been jailed for four years.
William Marshall, 43, attacked sports therapist Jennifer Edwards at her home in Kirkcaldy in June last year.
He then went on to take cash from the 45-year-old’s bank account. It was days later he dialled 999 claiming he had found his girlfriend dead.
Marshall had originally faced a murder allegation before prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to culpable homicide.
At Glasgow High Court on Thursday, sentencing judge Lady Rae told Marshall he had displayed a “callous attitude” towards Ms Edwards and had lied to police.
A family statement said: “The sentenced passed to Marshall today will never compare to the life sentence he has imposed on our family; however we would like to thank Police Scotland for their thorough investigation which led to this conviction and for the support received from the Victim and Information Advice team to get us through this nightmare.
“We hope today’s sentence will act as a deterrent to the cowards who abuse their partners and act as motivation to the women who are afraid for their lives; that they must seek help before they follow the same path as our Jen.
“Please do not be afraid any more. There is so much help available for you.
“It’s now time for our family to close this chapter, to grieve and remember the good times we shared with Jen; a daughter, a mother, a sister and friend. We thank the press for respecting our privacy during this time of sadness.”
