A man has been convicted of murdering his former partner who died 21 years after he doused her with petrol and set her on fire in an attack inspired by a scene in the film Reservoir Dogs.
Steven Craig, 58, inflicted horrendous injuries to Jacqueline Kirk in a car park in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, in April 1998.
Ms Kirk, a mother-of-two, was in hospital for nine months following the attack and suffered burns to 35 per cent of her body, requiring a tracheotomy and operations including skin grafts.
In 2000, Craig was convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent relating to Ms Kirk following a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
He was also convicted of a second charge of GBH with intent on a second woman, as well as raping her, and was jailed for life with a minimum term of nine years for the three offences.
Craig served more than 15 years in prison for the attacks but was arrested again in June 2021 following Ms Kirk's death in August 2019 at the age of 61.
During a three-week trial, medical experts told the jury how Craig's actions 21 years ago had made a "more than minimal" contribution to her death.
The jury unanimously found Craig guilty of murder this afternoon.
Ms Justice Stacey thanked the jury for their work during the trial, telling them: "By your verdict, you have ensured that justice has been done and there is closure for Ms Kirk's family.
"That is hugely important and it is your role over the past three weeks that has enabled that to happen."
Ms Kirk's family shouted "yes" and wept after the verdict was delivered.
Ms Kirk died in hospital from a ruptured diaphragm caused by her intestines swelling, with the level of scarring to her chest and abdomen reducing their ability to expand.
Bristol Crown Court heard a decision was made not to operate on Ms Kirk given her frailty and health problems.
Prosecuting, Richard Smith KC told jurors that the severe burns inflicted on Ms Kirk - including to her face, neck, chest, torso, thighs and buttock - played a "significant" part in her death.
"Therefore, we say that good sense and the law says that this defendant should be accountable for the full consequences of what he did," Mr Smith said.
"The prosecution says that this defendant can be described as having murdered the victim."
He told jurors the law did not demand that Ms Kirk's injuries were the sole cause or the main cause of her death.
"All the law demands is that the contribution made by the scarring was more than minimal," Mr Smith said.
Mr Smith alleged that the scarring also made a contribution to the decision of doctors not to operate on Ms Kirk.
Christopher Tehrani KC, defending Craig, told the trial that it was wrong to assert that the scarring explained the rupture Ms Kirk suffered.
He said the decision not to operate appeared to be based on Ms Kirk's frailty and other illnesses, rather than the injuries suffered in 1998.
Craig, of Brailsford Road, York, accepted that he had committed the attack on Ms Kirk - meaning the murder trial was limited to medical evidence.
Prosecutor Mr Smith told the court that Craig had been handed a discretionary life sentence for his attack on Ms Kirk during previous proceedings.
He served more than 15 years in prison before being released but was recalled on two separate occasions.
This means he has spent 17 years and six months in total in prison and remains on life sentence, Mr Smith said.
Speaking after the verdict, Andrew Pritchard of the Crown Prosecution Service said Craig was now held responsible for the “full consequences” of his actions.
“When Steven Craig was jailed in 2000 for causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Jacqueline Kirk, no-one knew that his actions would eventually lead to Jacqueline’s death,” Mr Pritchard said.
“As a result, the original sentence he served did not reflect the full consequences of his appalling actions.
“The passage of time between the attack and Jacqueline’s death 21 years later made this a highly unusual and challenging case, and meant that approval was needed from the Attorney General to proceed with a prosecution for murder.”
