A man who burned a mother-of-two alive has been jailed for 24 years for her rape and murder. Rhys Bennett admitted sexually assaulting and killing Jill Barclay in Aberdeen on September 17, 2022 when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
The court heard that after raping the 47-year-old, he poured petrol on her and set her alight. He was jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum of 24 years before he is eligible to apply for parole. Sentencing Bennett, Lord Arthurson said: “Your crimes against Ms Barclay were unimaginably wicked and indeed medieval in their barbarity.”
Ms Barclay leaves behind a partner and two children aged six and eight. In a statement read outside court after the sentencing by Detective Superintendent Andrew Patrick, her family paid tribute to her as a “deeply loved life partner, mother and daughter”.
