A CALCULATING killer who stabbed his girlfriend 70 times in a frenzied attack, then spent four hours in the blood-soaked house concocting an elaborate cover story, has been jailed for life.

So severe were the injuries to mother-of-two Susan Carr that her own mother could only identify her by her distinctive toes.

Peter Killeen, who spent six years as a patient at the Rampton high security mental hospital following a history of teenage violence, was given a minimum 12- and-a-half years sentence behind bars for her murder.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that, having murdered his lover in a jealous rage over a seemingly-innocent remark, Killeen carefully took steps to cover his tracks.

He removed his own clothes, wiped clean the kitchen knife he had used in the murder, wrote a false suicide note claiming self defence and doctored diaries to allege his victim had a history of violence. He then stabbed himself and took a non-harmful overdose of anti-depressants before ringing paramedics - all part of an elaborate attempt to claim he had acted in self-defence.

Detectives saw through his tissue of lies and, faced with overwhelming forensic evidence, the 57-year-old killer finally pleaded guilty to murder.

Speaking afterwards, Susan's mother, 60-year-old Thelma Cruddas, said: "I am disappointed with the sentence - in his case life should mean life and that means until the day he dies."

Earlier, Judge David Hodson had heard the full horror of the events which unfolded in the early hours of July 7 last year at Killeen's bungalow in the quiet village of Craghead, near Stanley.

Killeen had formed a relationship with family friend Susan Carr months after the death of his third wife.

Throughout the relationship, Killeen had been prone to jealous rages and Mrs Carr was so frightened of him that, having ended the affair, she installed CCTV in her home in nearby Hazel Terrace, changed the locks and phones and took a taxi the short distance to the nearby British Legion Club, where she was a member of the darts team, rather than walk past his house.

The couple eventually got back together but the jealousy continued. On Sunday, July 4 - the day before Mrs Carr's 38th birthday - the couple had argued over a seemingly innocent joke she shared with a taxi driver and Killeen stormed off into the night.

Two days later, they met up at the club and were last seen heading back arm-in-arm to Killeen's bungalow at about 11.45pm.

Detectives believe moments later Susan Carr was dead. Although Killeen's barrister Ben Nolan QC maintained in court his client had no recollection of events, detectives say Mrs Carr was attacked on the living room sofa, then fled to the hallway and into the bedroom where she was literally cornered.

She suffered "scores" of violent blows which broke her nose and fractured her skull. She fought bravely to fend off at least 70 cuts with a kitchen knife to her head, face and neck, her ear almost severed and - in a final wound almost certainly inflicted after she was already dead - she was stabbed through the abdomen and the blade was twisted into her stomach.

Then, having savagely butchered his lover, Killeen coldly sat down to work out how he could best cover his tracks before finally, at 4.30am, he rang paramedics and claimed he had killed Susan in self-defence.

Judge Hodson told him: "She made a brave and determined attempt to defend herself from this vicious attack, but in the end she was overpowered by what you had done to her."

Speaking after sentencing, Det Supt Dave Jones - the man who led the team which brought Killeen to justice - said: "This was a cowardly attack on a defenceless woman."