Killer slept beside dead partner

The judge said Payne had a history of being unable to control his temper

A man who strangled his girlfriend with a dog lead before sleeping next to her body has been jailed for life.

Richard Payne was told he would spend at least 15 years in prison for the killing of Amanda Hartley, 34, at their home in Leeds in May.

Payne, 29, of Bismarck Drive, Beeston, Leeds, was sentenced after admitting murder at the city's crown court.

Mrs Hartley was jailed in 1996, along with Michael Cunningham, for starting a fire which killed their baby son.

Leeds Crown Court heard Payne had a history of violence and alcohol abuse and the couple had a volatile relationship.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp said Payne had drunk enough cider on the day of the murder to be four-and-a-half times the limit for driving and had also taken cannabis and amphetamines.

You are clearly a dangerous man Judge Peter Collier QC Murder victim had killed her baby

He said Payne hit his girlfriend during a drunken rage and then took the lead belonging to her dog, Bullseye.

Payne put the lead around her neck and throttled her for two to three minutes, Mr Sharp told the court.

The judge was told how the defendant then made an attempt to clean up Ms Hartley's body before putting her in bed, climbing in beside her and going to sleep.

In the morning, Mr Sharp said, Payne continued to act with a "disturbing degree of nonchalance" including chatting to a shopkeeper while buying cigarettes and going for a walk.

The court heard Payne asked one friend if he would help him take the body to another house and set fire to the building to destroy evidence.

The friend refused and went to the police.

'Senseless violence'

The court heard Payne was not suffering from a mental illness but did have a personality disorder.

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC, told Payne: "You are clearly a dangerous man.

"The evidence is overwhelming that you have a history of being unable to control your temper and, particularly when affected by drink and drugs, your loss of temper has been extreme and resulted in you causing injury to other people, particularly those close to you."

Det Ch Insp Dick Nuttall said: "Tragically Amanda Hartley met her death as a result of an act of senseless violence by the man with whom she chose to spend her life.

"Richard Payne is a man with a history of violence in his relationships but thankfully he won't be able to harm any other women whilst he is prison."