Mum of woman murdered by jealous ex renews fight for tougher sentences

• Watch Caron Bell's report

A Somerset mother whose daughter was murdered by her ex-boyfriend has renewed her campaign to get domestic murder sentences increased.

Poppy Devey Waterhouse, 24, was killed in the Leeds flat she shared with 25-year-old Joe Atkinson in 2018.

Using a knife from their kitchen, he stabbed Poppy more than 70 times.

Atkinson pleaded guilty to murder and was jailed for a minimum of 15 years and 310 days in prison. But if he had taken his weapon to the scene - deemed an aggravating factor - he could have got a much longer sentence.

Under the Sentencing Act 2021, the sentence for murder is life, with a starting point of 15 years' imprisonment. Judges can add or subtract from this, according to the facts of the case. But after a spate of fatal street knife attacks from 2007 to 2008, legislation was brought which mandates a starting point of 25 years for murderers who take a weapon to the scene.

Poppy's mum Julie Devey says the 10-year sentencing difference is insulting to victims of domestic homicides, the majority of whom are female.

She said: "It's insulting to say 'well you were in the house, you were in the flat, you knew the person who murdered you, therefore your life is worth 10 years less'.

"That is the message that is going out to the public. We want that 10-year gap completely eradicated."

She is campaigning with Carole Could from Calne in Wiltshire, whose 17-year-old daughter Ellie was murdered in 2019.

Like Poppy, Ellie was killed in her kitchen by an ex-boyfriend who used a knife he found there. Ellie's murderer, Thomas Griffiths, who was 17 at time, was given a minimum prison term of 12 and a half years.

Partly in response to the mothers' campaign, the then-Justice Secretary Robert Buckland launched a Sentencing Review last year. It was originally due for completion in December 2021 but they are still waiting to see its findings.

"The whole process has been excruciating, how long it's taken," Julie said.

"If we manage to get any positive changes, it's not going to affect Poppy's murderer, Joe Atkinson. But I do it for the women who are losing their lives every week, and for the families - other mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters - who have to sit and hear that their loved ones' lives are worth 10 years less."

The Ministry of Justice told ITV News that the review delay was due to 'a number of important and complex issues'.

A spokesperson added: "This government remains committed to ensuring that the sentencing framework responds appropriately to cases of domestic homicide and that sentences reflect the severity of these crimes."

The current Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, says members of his team will meet Julie and Carole in early 2023 to discuss the review before its findings are made public.