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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Edward McArthur admits setting partner on fire in Darlington | Edward McArthur admits setting partner on fire in Darlington |
| (3 months later) | |
| A man has admitted pouring petrol on his partner then setting her alight and trapping her in a burning flat. | A man has admitted pouring petrol on his partner then setting her alight and trapping her in a burning flat. |
| Rebecca Major, 32, escaped by smashing a window with a table and jumping from an upstairs window of the flat on Geneva Road, Darlington, last August. | Rebecca Major, 32, escaped by smashing a window with a table and jumping from an upstairs window of the flat on Geneva Road, Darlington, last August. |
| At Teesside Crown Court, Edward McArthur, 40, of Geneva Road, admitted charges of arson and causing grievous bodily harm with intent. | At Teesside Crown Court, Edward McArthur, 40, of Geneva Road, admitted charges of arson and causing grievous bodily harm with intent. |
| He has been jailed for 15 years and nine months. | He has been jailed for 15 years and nine months. |
| The jury cleared him of attempted murder on the direction of the judge. | The jury cleared him of attempted murder on the direction of the judge. |
| Ms Major, who was in the public gallery of the court, suffered 40% burns in the blaze as well as a broken skull and sternum in the fall from the flat above a shop. | Ms Major, who was in the public gallery of the court, suffered 40% burns in the blaze as well as a broken skull and sternum in the fall from the flat above a shop. |
| She spent three weeks in intensive care after the fire in August and has ongoing health problems. | She spent three weeks in intensive care after the fire in August and has ongoing health problems. |
| A statement read out in court said she had suffered unbearable pain. | A statement read out in court said she had suffered unbearable pain. |
| "Due to my injuries, I feel like a freak and people stare at me," it said. | "Due to my injuries, I feel like a freak and people stare at me," it said. |
| The judge told McArthur: "Your intention was to disfigure, that means the serious injury you had in mind was to be permanent, in that she would remain scarred. | The judge told McArthur: "Your intention was to disfigure, that means the serious injury you had in mind was to be permanent, in that she would remain scarred. |
| "You must have heard her screams and you ignored them. As she was screaming for help you walked out of the flat." | "You must have heard her screams and you ignored them. As she was screaming for help you walked out of the flat." |
| He added Ms Major had been psychologically scarred and left "nervous, fragile and untrusting". | He added Ms Major had been psychologically scarred and left "nervous, fragile and untrusting". |
| Outside court Ms Major's mother, Lorraine McClaren, stood next to her and said: "There are no words to describe my feelings, this is my baby. | Outside court Ms Major's mother, Lorraine McClaren, stood next to her and said: "There are no words to describe my feelings, this is my baby. |
| "He is a horrendous person and he deserves everything he is going to get." | "He is a horrendous person and he deserves everything he is going to get." |