Killer ate kebab after stab death

Last updated at 13:58 GMT, Monday, 23 November 2009

A killer who boasted to friends that he ate a kebab as he watched his partner bleed to death at the home they shared has been sentenced to life in prison.

The body of Lisa Leckenby, 28, was found at the house in Blackhall, near Peterlee, County Durham, on 9 August.

The mother-of-three had been violently assaulted and stabbed.

Marcel Allan, 42, had earlier pleaded guilty to murder. Newcastle Crown Court heard that at the time he was serving a suspended sentence for assaulting her.

The court was told that on the night of the killing Allan telephoned a former partner, saying: "I've stabbed her and I watched her take her last breath as I sat eating a kebab with chilli sauce.

"It was red and I said 'This is your blood'."

He also withdrew some of her money from a cash machine, and said to another friend she would not need it "because she is dead now".

The body was found after Allan rang the police, pretending to be someone else.

The court was told that the couple had a turbulent relationship, and at the time of the murder Allen was serving a four-month prison sentence suspended for two years after admitting common assault against her.

Judge Esmond Faulks described the killing as "horrible and unforgivable".

He said: "You subjected Lisa Leckenby to a violent assault.

"You admitted after stabbing her you stamped on her face and let her bleed to death on the floor in your house.

"When you spoke to witnesses about what you had done, you showed no remorse, even boasting of the killing, saying she deserved it."

He sentenced Allen to life in prison, with a minimum term of 15 years.