DAVID DUNSTAN

DERBYSHIRE MAN JAILED FOR LIFE AFTER SETTING PARTNER ON FIRE

A 42-year-old man named David Dunstan has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing of his partner, Carolyn Hyatt.

The fatal attack happened in August last year in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, when Dunstan assaulted Ms Hyatt by hitting her over the head with a metal stick, then dousing her with flammable liquid and setting it alight.

Emergency services responded quickly, and Dunstan was arrested at the scene.

Ms Hyatt suffered serious burns and was rushed to hospital, but she died later that month.

The court heard that the crime was particularly brutal, leading Derby Crown Court to set a minimum of 24 years to be served.

Dunstan admitted to the murder, which was described as a heinous and savage assault.

Ms Hyatt, who was 43, managed to call emergency services after the incident, but she ultimately succumbed to her injuries at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.

Although his address was listed as Redgate Close, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, Dunstan carried out the attack at his mother’s residence while she was away on holiday.

The judge underscored the cruelty of the attack and the profound grief it caused Ms Hyatt’s family, who continue to mourn her tragic death.