Murderer to stay in jail – for 14 years
A "SERIAL PHILANDERER" who stabbed his wife to death when he found out she had slept with another man – even though he had already left to set up home with a woman 25 years his junior – will serve at least 14 years behind bars, a High Court judge has ruled.
Thomas Clelland (51), of Kingsway, Fairstead, Lynn, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of the murder of his wife Michelle at Norwich Crown Court in June 2000.
Yesterday, after a review at the Royal Courts of Justice, in London, High Court judge Mr Justice Teare ordered Clelland to serve at least 14 years before even being allowed to apply for release.
Taking into account almost nine months he spent on remand before sentencing, the decision means Clelland will remain behind bars until at least September 2013, and will only then be released if he can convince the parole board he is no longer a danger to the public.
The judge told how Clelland, then 43, was a serial philanderer who had repeatedly cheated on his 35-year-old wife, but she had always forgiven him and taken him back.
In July 1999, he left the home he shared with his wife and three children and went to set up home with an 18-year-old woman.
But he soon changed his mind and wanted to return home.
His wife refused to take him back and, although she had remained faithful during their 18-year marriage, she had two short flings with younger men during their estrangement.
On September 11, 1999, Clelland killed her in a savage attack using two kitchen knives to inflict ten stab wounds, including to her heart and liver.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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