Newmilns man jailed for murdering wife with cooking pot
A man who murdered by repeatedly striking her with a cooking pot and knife has been jailed life.
42 year-old James Morley, had eight previous domestic abuse convictions for attacking Elaine Duncan when he took her life at their home in Newmilns in April 2014.
The high court heard how the fiend targeted Elaine just four days after he was released from prison for breaching court orders which had been passed to protect her.
The callous ned had been on a four day booze binge when he left Elaine's lifeless body in the living room. He then visited a local pub.
He repeatedly struck her with a cooking pot and these blows caused her to fall to the ground. Morley then climbed on top of her and slashed her throat up to 20 times.
On Tuesday, at the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lady Scott sentenced Morley to serve at least 20 years in prison before he can apply for parole.
She told the crook: "The violence of your attack was utterly savage. You struck your victim with such force such as to cause significant bruising and a groove within her skull.
"Then, after she fell backwards, you knelt on top of her and cut her throat repeatedly according to the pathologist up to 20 times.
"In so doing you cut through the major muscles, larynx, thyroid bone and jugular vein.
"Your victim was a vulnerable woman who had previously suffered violence and threats from you. You have eight relevant prior convictions for domestic aggravations against her since 2012.
"In 2013 you were made subject to a non-molestation order. You committed this murder within four days of being released on licence for breach of court orders relating to the victim. You have left her son and family devastated.
You show no insight and I am satisfied from the evidence of statements made by you to others, including those who prepared the background reports, that your conduct is entirely self-serving.
"I have considered the psychological and psychiatric reports obtained prior to trial by the defence. "These reveal your longstanding chaotic lifestyle and your chronic alcohol and drug abuse which is associated with your being aggressive.
"From the preliminary expert opinions given, I have no doubt that you have a personality disorder and that you pose a significant risk of harm to others." Morley, of Newmilns, was convicted last month following a trial at the High Court in Paisley.
Sentence had been deferred for the court to obtain reports.
The earlier proceedings heard how Morley phoned 999 to tell cops he thought he had killed her. But he gave operators the wrong address, prompting a frantic search for Elaine.
When asked later where she was, he said: "Hanging off a leather couch in the living room."
Morley admitted culpable homicide over the April 2014 horror but prosecutors refused to accept his guilty plea. Shameful Morley denied murdering Duncan, claiming he lashed out and killed her in a fit of rage during an argument.
Before he was convicted, the jury heard how Morley and Duncan had been in a relationship for eight years, living together in Scotland and England.
Their relationship was characterised by violence, with Morley being jailed north and south of the border for assaulting her.
His treatment of Duncan was so bad that he was even made the subject of an interdict by an English court which banned him from having any contact with her. The jury of 11 women and four men returned an unanimous guilty verdict following deliberations.
On Wednesday, before Lady Scott ordered security officers to take Morley from the court room to the cells to begin his life behind bars, she also said: "No-one who heard and saw the evidence of her injuries will forget them."