Steven Paul Craig had ‘fantasised’ about committing the torture scene from Tarantino’s hit movie
A man has been found guilty of murdering his girlfriend, who died more than 20 years after he poured petrol on her and set her on fire while enacting a Reservoir Dogs fantasy.
Steven Paul Craig served 15 years in prison for attacking Jacqueline Kirk, who was badly injured but survived the attack in Somerset in 1998.
Craig soaked Kirk in petrol and set a lighter to her in imitation of the torture scene in Quentin Tarantino’s 1991 movie, that she said he had “fantasised” about. Kirk miraculously survived after suffering 35 per cent burns to her body, undergoing 14 operations and spending nearly nine months in hospital.
But some 21 years later, in August 2019, then aged 62, Kirk died after suffering a ruptured diaphragm and other health conditions that the prosecution argued was “more than minimally”caused by Craig’s actions.
Craig was originally convicted of GBH with intent after a trial in 2000 and jailed, but following a three-week trial at Bristol Crown Court that concluded Friday, the 57-year-old was convicted of Kirk’s murder and remanded in custody. He is due to be sentenced at the same court on 9 November.
Jurors had to decide whether the burns Kirk suffered during the attack – in Dolphin Square in Weston Super-Mare 24 years ago – played a “significant part in the cause of her death”.
Mark Almond, Detective Chief Inspector at Major Crime Investigation Team, Avon and Somerset Police, described the case as “unusual”, due to the amount of time that passed between Kirk’s injuries and her death, but added: “What he did to her was horrendous and had a profound effect on her and her family.
“While she managed to see many significant milestones, her life was still cut short by the injuries caused by Craig, and it was only right that he was held fully accountable.”
Speaking after the verdict, Andrew Pritchard of the Crown Prosecution Service said Craig was now held responsible for the “full consequences” of his actions.
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