A man who killed his girlfriend because he thought that she was having an affair was jailed for six years yesterday.

David Craigie hit Sonya Todd, 21, repeatedly with a dog chain during the prolonged assault at their home in Methil, Fife.

The attack, which is believed to have lasted up to five hours, left the young mother with so many injuries that pathologists were unable to count them all.

Craigie, 24, was charged initially with murder but pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to the reduced charge of culpable homicide in light of evidence that Ms Todd's diabetes was a factor in her death.

At the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday, Lord Kinclaven gave him an extended sentence of six years behind bars to be followed by three years' supervision. He told Craigie: “You have demonstrated you are capable of serious violence. The fact remains that this was a sustained assault upon Sonya Todd, a young woman who was 21, who seemed not to have fought back. The consequence, albeit unintended and unforeseen, was the tragic loss of a young life.”

Ms Todd's relatives were in court to see her killer being led away to the cells. Her father, George Todd, said that the sentence could have been longer. “Six years, to me, is kind of short for anybody's life,” he said. “It doesn't matter whether it was culpable homicide or murder. I still think it's a short sentence.”

Mr Todd, 57, also questioned the decision to accept a plea to the reduced charge in view of the injuries that his daughter suffered. “For the sustained battering that she's taken, there's no way it should have been culpable [homicide],” he said.

The court was told that the couple had a volatile relationship that could turn violent when they argued. Craigie began his brutal attack after accusing Ms Todd, a mother of one, of cheating on him with a man who worked at a local car wash - claims that her family have dismissed. He even scrawled his accusations on her

arm on the night of the attack on March 23.

The court was told how neighbours were woken by a disturbance shortly after midnight and that the noises continued periodically until about 5.30am.

Her body was found by a neighbour, who was told by Craigie, with tears streaming down his face: “I think I've killed her.”

Craigie later told police: “I love her from my heart. Doesn't matter of the circumstances, if you kill somebody you kill somebody.” He added: “I can't believe she's dead. I left a wee lassie without a mum.”

Craigie admitted to striking Ms Todd repeatedly with a dog chain, as well as scratching, biting, punching and kicking her during the lengthy ordeal. Fife Constabulary Detective Inspector Andy Girdwood said: “While this harrowing case may have ended, the pain that Sonya's family feels at the loss of this young mother goes on. Our thoughts are with them as they try to rebuild their lives.”

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