Every three days in Britain a man kills his female partner or ex-partner. This man John Smith was on bail, he had previous convictions for partner abuse, they were estranged. We need to ask "what will it take?" before courts understand that bail conditions do not protect women? The court asks for a risk assessment now - where was the risk assessment when he was bailed?

Abattoir Butcher Murders Wife

Nov 24 2007 By Arnot Mcwhinnie

25 Knife Wounds In Frenzied Attack

A SLAUGHTERHOUSE butcher stabbed his estranged wife 25 times just minutes after they had sex, a court heard yesterday.

Mother-of-two Kelly Smith died after her husband, John Smith, launched his frenzied attack.

Her hands and wrists were sliced open as she tried to defend herself from the onslaught.

At the High Court in Glasgow yesterday, 28-year-old Smith admitted murdering her.

Smith had previous convictions for assaulting his wife and for a breach of the peace involving her.

The fatal attack happened in a friend's house at Glasgow Street, Ardrossan, Ayrshire, where Smith had been staying after he and Kelly split up.

Kathleen Harper, prosecuting, said Smith was on bail at the time and was banned from either approaching or contacting Kelly or going to their marital home.

On the evening she died, on February 19, Kelly drove her two children, aged eight and two, to a friend's house to be looked after for the night while she went out for a drink in a Saltcoats pub with another pal.

On the way home, she went to see her estranged husband.

An argument began but it calmed down to the point where they made up and had sex.

Afterwards, however, Smith went into the kitchen and returned with a knife which he plunged into Kelly as she sat on the bed.

When she fell to the floor, he continued to stab her and then stabbed himself in the left arm.

Ms Harper said Smith took his wife's house keys from her bag, intending to get her car from the family home and escape.

But he couldn't find the car keys there because Kelly had left them and the car in her friend's driveway.

He then went to the friend's house, threw stones at her window to waken her up and said he was to take the children and get the car keys. But he was told to leave.

Smith then went to another friend's house and told him: "I really done it this time.

"I need to get away from here. I think I've killed her."

They went round to Smith's house and he went in, returning to shout: "Aye, she's deid."

Police got a 999 call from Smith saying he had stabbed his wife and, when they arrived, he was still inside the house.

When he was taken to the police station, Smith asked detectives several times: "How long will I get for murder?"

Asked why he got a knife after they had made up, he said: "Coz madness.

"Just things going through ma heid and I've just lashed oot and I shouldn't have,poor lassie."

Asked why he stabbed himself in the arm, he replied: "I just thought maybe if we just both got it together.

"I wish I'd put it through me mate and then the two of us would have went the same way."

A post-mortem revealed that Kelly would not have died straight away but would have bled to death.

She had received internal wounds damaging the lungs, her spleen, a kidney, small and large bowel and liver.

Judge Lord Brailsford called for a risk assessment report before formally sentencing Smith to life in January next year.