Steven Paul Craig

The offence

What the court heard

He was found guilty of murder in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, on 18 April 1998. Sentencing Remarks 1. The court must sentence you for the murder of Jacqueline Kirk who died on 23 August 2019 after you had attacked and set fire to her 21 years previously on 18 April 1998. 2. Jackie was in her early 30s in the 1990s. She was outgoing, optimistic and confident with a wide circle of friends and was a close and loving mother to her late teenage son Shane Delliston and young daughter Sonna Chandler-Kirk. She had wide-ranging interests and a free-spirit intending to travel and see the world. She also had a great sense of humour. 3. Her generosity and open-mindedness led her to give you shelter when you were homeless in 1995 after a chance meeting. You then moved in and began an exploitative and coercive and controlling relationship with her. Your drug and alcohol abuse led her back to drink and drugs problems that she had previously conquered. You were abusive and undermined her self-confidence as you became increasingly violent towards her. She became withdrawn from family and friends and eventually Sonna, now aged around 9 or 10, moved in with Shane because of the intimidating and volatile atmosphere you created in her home. Jackie became too frightened of you to make you leave her house and she had nowhere else to go. On one occasion you cracked her cheekbone, on another she was in hospital with a fractured jaw. On more than one occasion you threatened to burn her flat down. You frequently threatened to kill her. 4. You repeatedly watched a scene in "Reservoir Dogs" when a young policemen is tortured in a chair before being set alight with petrol. Jackie described you watching the film with a permanent grin and that you liked seeing the torture. You enjoyed acting like the characters in the film. 5. Three days before what proved to be the fatal attack in Weston Super Mare, when Jackie had refused to give you some money she had in her bank account you were violent and aggressive to her and then locked her in a Bath railway station toilet. It was some hours before she was freed by a cleaner. 6. Against that background Jackie was too vulnerable and scared to refuse when you told her you were using her car to take you both to Plymouth. She agreed so as not to upset you and for fear of another beating. You planned to do really serious harm to Jackie on that trip nursing some imagined grievance about a former boyfriend of hers. 7. On the journey you told…

Aggravating and mitigating factors

Mental / Physical suffering / Harm caused

Around this case

• Bristol Crown Court
• Prosecuted by CPS South West
• Investigated by Avon and Somerset Constabulary