ADAM SINGER

DEVONPORT MAN ADAM SINGER'S SENTENCE FOR GIRLFRIEND'S MURDER INCREASED TO 23 YEARS

A man who beat his girlfriend to death with a rolling pin in a bid to secure custody of their 21-month-old daughter has had his sentence increased from 18 to 23 years.

The Court of Appeal has today increased the minimum term from 18 to 23 years’ life imprisonment handed to Adam Singer, from Devonport.

Singer was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years for the murder of Sally-Ann Harrison, at the Crown Court in Plymouth by His Honour Judge Cottle after he carried out a brutal and vicious attack on the woman he shared a house with.

Giving judgment, Lady Justice Rafferty said: "There was, as the judge described, a weapon taken to the scene, a substantial catering rolling pin." "It was a plan put in place with what Singer thought to be a water-tight alibi.

The planning and pre-meditation here were aggravating features." "The judge assessed Singer as cunning, deceitful, manipulative and someone who would continue to pose a very real danger to any women with whom he, in the future, formed a relationship." "We quash the minimum term of 18 years and, for it, we substitute one of 23 years." Singer can only be freed after serving his minimum term if he can persuade the Parole Board he is no longer a danger.

The Solicitor General, Oliver Heald QC MP, who referred the case to the Court of Appeal, said: "I am pleased that the Court of Appeal shared my concern about the original sentence and raised the minimum term from 18 to 23 years in the life sentence handed to Adam Singer." "This was a terrible crime which has deprived a young child of both parents I hope this revised sentence offers a degree of comfort and reassurance to the public." The original sentence was considered unduly lenient by the Solicitor General and was referred to the Attorney General's Office by CPS South West.

Prior to the murder, Adam Singer and Sally-Ann Harrison, who were no longer a couple but still living together, were seeking custody of their 21-month-old child.

Singer had also discussed with colleagues about killing someone and had taken an industrial rolling pin from his work as a galley assistant at HMS Drake.

He confided that he had planned to carry out the crime the day before but hadn’t gone through with it.

On the night of 4 April 2012, Singer went to the house they shared, and while Sally-Ann was sitting on the sofa, he carried out a brutal attack.

He initially pleaded not guilty, but after a trial in April 2013 where the jury failed to reach a verdict, he was retried in February 2014 and convicted of her murder.