Husband who murdered Castleford school teacher Abi Fisher could face more jail time

A care company worker who murdered his wife just months after the birth of their daughter could face have his prison term increased.

Matthew Fisher, 30, strangled and beat primary school teacher Abi Fisher, 29, to death at their home in Castleford, West Yorkshire in July.

He then left their baby daughter alone in their house while he dumped the body.

After the killing, Fisher posted a message on Facebook pleading for help to find his missing wife and prompted a major search involving police, her colleagues from Featherstone All Saints CE Academy and the local community.

Officers discovered her body in bushes near Brierley in South Yorkshire on 10 July - the day after she was reported missing.

CCTV showed Fisher leaving their home on Walton Park Street in his car in the early hours of 9 July, despite his claims he was asleep at the time.

He was later jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years.

But the Attorney General's Office has now been asked to consider whether the sentence was too lenient.

West Yorkshire Police said they had submitted a joint request, along with Mrs Fisher's family.

A spokesperson from the Attorney General's Office said: "We have received a request for this sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

"The law officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider the case and make a decision."

Unduly lenient sentences

Members of the public can ask the Attorney General’s Office to examine sentences handed down by crown courts in England and Wales within 28 days of sentencing.

If a sentence is considered too lenient, the Attorney General – currently Victoria Prentis MP – can raise a challenge at the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal will then consider whether the original sentence should be upheld or amended.

According to the law, a sentence is unduly lenient if it falls outside of the range of sentences which the judge could "reasonably consider appropriate".

In other words, for a sentence to be considered unduly lenient, the sentencing judge must have made some kind of error and, if the mistake is not rectified, then public confidence would be damaged.

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