A man has pleaded guilty to murdering a woman who died after setting her on fire two years ago.

Leigh Pateman, 45, caused “serious burns” to Ellen Marshall, then 42, when she poured petrol on herself and set the fuel on fire during an argument in April 2021.

He previously admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and was sentenced to 17 years and 10 months in prison following the attack in Skegness in March 2022. lincolnshire.

Ms Marshall suffered 80% to 90% burns to the upper half of her body in the attack and spent the rest of her life in hospitals and care homes.

He died from his injuries in March 2023, and Pateman was charged with murder.

He pleaded guilty at Lincoln Crown Court on Friday and will be sentenced on December 2.

Judge Simon Hirst told the defendant, who appeared in court via video link from HMP Garth: “You know that the sentence I have to impose on you will be life imprisonment.

“What I need to determine, and what the attorney will help with, is the minimum amount of time you have to serve.”

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Lincolnshire Police said the murder charge was approved following consultation with authorities. Crown Prosecution Service.

The case has similarities to Steven Craig’s case. Convicted of murder in 2022 Following the death of a woman who died 21 years after setting herself on fire with gasoline in 1998.

sentenced to a penalty 15 more years in prison — in addition to the 18 he served in the attack — after his victim, Jacqueline Kirk, died from medical complications in 2019.

Detective Inspector Andy McWatt said: “This was a truly shocking and barbaric attack. I can’t imagine how much fear she must have felt and how painful the rest of Ellen’s life must have been.

“For almost two years his family had to watch their loved one suffer horrific injuries. I hope they can feel some sense of sympathy that his killer will now be punished for this crime.”