Man who set girlfriend on fire guilty of murder

A man whose girlfriend died two years after he set her on fire has pleaded guilty to her murder.
Leigh Pateman doused 42-year-old Ellen Marshall in petrol as she sat in a chair before setting her alight at Firbeck Avenue, Skegness, during an argument in April 2021.
Pateman, 45, was jailed in March 2022 for 17 years and 10 months after admitting a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
But he was charged with murder after Ms Marshall died aged 43 in Nottingham City Hospital on 11 March 2023 – nearly two years after the attack.
Pateman admitted the charge when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court via video link from HMP Garth on Friday.
Judge Simon Hirst adjourned sentencing until 2 December, telling him: “You know the only sentence I can pass upon you is one of life imprisonment.
“What I need to decide is the mininum term you will have to serve before you can appear before a parole board.”
A court previously heard Pateman had made threats to set Ms Marshall on fire before the fatal attack.
Following the incident Ms Marshall, who was originally from Nottingham, was found lying on the floor of the property by firefighters.
She was still conscious and managed to give her name, but claimed the injuries were self-inflicted.
She had suffered 80% burns and was taken to Nottingham City Hospital, before being transferred to a specialist burns unit.
Despite 12 hours of surgery she was given less than a 50% chance of survival.
Pateman, who had fled the scene on his bike, was found at his mother’s house, where he had gone to bed, covered in soot.
He was arrested and treated for burns before being taken into police custody.
Following his sentencing in 2022, a spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police described it as “one of the worst cases of domestic violence we have seen”.
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