A Suffolk murderer who hit his former partner over the head more than 20 times with a claw hammer is seeking leave to appeal his sentence.
Scott Ellis, of Tunstall Green, was told he would serve a minimum of 22 years of a mandatory life term for the murder of Jane Bartholomew, of Lark Rise, Martlesham.
Ellis was sentenced in December 2014 after he denied murder, but was convicted following an Ipswich Crown Court trial.
The 43-year-old has now submitted an application to the Court of Appeal asking for his sentence to be reviewed.
The court confirmed it received his submission last month.
In order to get an appeal the papers Ellis has submitted will go before a single judge to see if there is merit in his argument for an appeal, or whether his application will be dismissed.
Should the judge decide in Ellis’s favour the matter will be put before a panel of three judges for an appeal.
A decision on the merits of Ellis’s submission is unlikely to be made until the end of April or May.
At this stage it is not known on what basis Ellis is challenging his sentencing.
Ellis murdered 39-year-old Miss Bartholomew on June 13, 2014, after she ended their relationship.
Sentencing Ellis, Judge David Goodin said an experienced psychiatrist who gave evidence during the trial had described the killing of Miss Bartholomew as “one of the most savage, if not the worst” he had come across.
During Ellis’s week-long trial the court heard he couldn’t accept his relationship with Miss Bartholomew was over, and after killing her told police he could not live without her.
“I am satisfied that you saw no way out and resolved in anger and revenge to murder her,” said the judge.
He said that after making up his mind to kill Miss Bartholomew, Ellis had purchased a claw hammer “especially for the job of killing her” from a local hardware shop.
On the morning of the killing he let himself into her home with a bag containing the hammer, nylon rope, duct tape, a Stanley knife and plastic bags.
After lying in wait for Miss Bartholomew he grabbed her from behind and rained blows down on her head.
Tony Cross QC, for Ellis, said his client had been suffering from some form of mental disorder at the time of the attack.
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