A domestic abuser who murdered his partner in her own home while he was on bail has been jailed for life.
Christopher Cook, 44, had left Jacqueline Kerr living in fear after a previous assault.
The 54-year-old was found dead in the bedroom of her Aberdeen home following a ‘brutal and sustained assault’.
Cook later told family and friends of Ms Kerr that ‘she deserved it’.
Yesterday the killer, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, was jailed for a minimum of 20 years for the ‘appalling’ domestically aggravated murder in January this year.
Christopher Cook, 44, had left Jacqueline Kerr living in fear after a previous assault
Jacqueline Kerr, 54, was found dead in the bedroom of her Aberdeen home following a ‘brutal and sustained assault’
Ms Kerr was murdered in her home on Sunnyside Road, seen above, in Aberdeen
At the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lord Weir told Cook he had committed ‘what can only have been a brutal and sustained assault’ with ‘tragic and fatal consequences’.
Last month, another killer who had been on bail when he murdered his partner was sentenced to life. Christopher McGowan left young mother Claire Inglis with more than 76 injuries after attacking her at her home in Stirling,
Tory justice spokesman Russell Findlay said it was ‘scandalous’ that another woman had been murdered by a partner on bail. He added: ‘The men who killed Jacqueline Kerr and Claire Inglis are solely responsible for their cowardly and disgusting actions, but the SNP Government must rethink its weak justice agenda.’
Ms Kerr, a support worker for children with learning difficulties, had begun an on-off relationship with Cook in February last year.
But a few months later he beat her up. Cook appeared in court charged with domestic assault in June 2022 but the case had not been concluded by the time of her murder.
The bail order he was on is understood to have related to the case. On the day of her death, Ms Kerr had been at a pub in Aberdeen with Cook but left alone. He later went to her home and murdered her.
The killer fled the scene but was arrested after being spotted by a family friend and detained by the victim’s nephew. As they waited for police to arrive, Cook told them: ‘She deserved it.’
A post-mortem examination found Ms Kerr had suffered 51 separate injuries.
Her family said: ‘Jacqueline was the light of our lives, she was so loved by all those who had the pleasure of knowing her.’
Grampian Women’s Aid said: ‘This is the second man in two weeks to be sentenced for killing his partner while released on bail. We stand with other victims’ organisations opposed to recent changes to make it easier to release accused on bail.’