Slaughterman John McFarlane has setence increased.
A SLAUGHTERMAN who shot a mother with a bolt gun used to slaughter livestock in front of her three children has had his sentence increased by the Court of Appeal.
John McFarlane, 40, was told he would have to serve at least 20 years in jail after he admitted the murder of Newmarket fitness instructor Mary Griffiths at her home in Bury St Edmunds in May.
But following an application by the Crown Prosecution Service the sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General Baroness Scotland who believed the sentence was "unduly lenient".
Today the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Mr Justice Collins and Mr Justice Griffith Williams increased the sentence from an original tariff of life with a minimum of 20 years imprisonment to a minimum of 30 years in custody.
After the hearing Ms Griffiths's sister Louise Ryan said; "Today my family and I came to court to see the sentence previously handed down to John MacFarlane brought to appeal.
We were not satisfied with the severity of the sentence considering the sheer brutality John MacFarlane inflicted on our beautiful sister, Mary Frances.
While we realise that no sentence can ever compensate for Mary's loss of life, we feel strongly that justice was not fully served last November.
"It is with heavy hearts that we stand here today having achieved what we set out to, by making this appeal.
"Our objective was for John MacFarlane's sentence to be reflective of the heinous crime he forced on our sister Mary Frances and the nightmare her three children have had to endure as a result of his evil actions.
On May 6th 2009, John MacFarlane viciously murdered our sister, in the middle of the night, while she slept with her three children, in what should've been, the safety of her own home.
He carefully planned the events of that night and callously smashed his way into her home and murdered her in front of her three young daughters.
John MacFarlane gave our sister a violent death full of terror and fear.
"John MacFarlane saw to it that Mary's life was cut short at just 38 years of age. Mary adored her three precious girls, and they adore her also.
"She lived for her children."
"She was a devoted mother who was looking forward to watching her girls grow up and their future together.
"Each day she would embrace life with her infectious warmth and energy. Mary made a real difference to people's lives, she was inspirational to everyone who was blessed to know her.
"She is sadly missed every day by her family and friends. This world is a much darker place without Mary in it.
"We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank Detective Chief Inspector Rick Munns and his team for their continued efforts in seeing that justice was served for our Mary Frances."
She added: "We are at present still awaiting a decision from the investigation being carried out by the IPCC as to why the police did not respond to Mary's call for help the day before she was murdered. We are hopeful that this should conclude shortly.
"Finally the evil actions of John MacFarlane has forced Mary's three, innocent, girls into a life without their mother and best friend and my parents into a life without their daughter and her siblings into a life without their sister.
"As I've said before it's what nightmares are made of. Our family will never recover from losing Mary Frances.
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Rick Munns says, "I hope that the result of today's hearing provides further solace for the family and friends of Mary, who continue to display courage and dignity following her tragic death last May.
"Whilst John McFarlane was originally sentenced to life imprisonment in November, the minimum term he must serve has been extended which reflects the horrific nature of this sad case."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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