A man walked free from court after attacking his girlfriend then murdered her two weeks later.
Robert Massey subjected Jacqueline Forest to vile abuse in mid-August after attempting to kick down her front door.
By the end of the month, he had strangled her to death before stabbing her body and scrawling profanities over her skin with a pen.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the 49-year-old victim had been in a relationship with the defendant since the summer of 2020 and spent time living at her home in Haydock.
On August 15 Massey was given 18-month community order at Liverpool Magistrates' Court after assaulting her and was banned from attending her address for 28 days.
Andrew Ford KC, prosecuting, described how this concerned an incident two days previously in which the 43-year-old went to her flat armed with an iron bar and began kicking the door.
He then stole Ms Forest's bank card, poured vodka over her and threatened to light the spirit on fire as he left the address.
The court was shown video footage of the incident recorded through the keyhole of a neighbouring flat.
In it, Massey could be seen repeatedly taking steps back from the door before taking running kicks at it over the course of several minutes.
Ms Forest was heard screaming in fear in the background, but she eventually relented and opened the door
Daniel Travers, defending, said the "spilling of the vodka was reckless during a struggle" and denied there had been a "threat to ignite".
Despite the ban, the couple met up again in a park over the August bank holiday weekend and spent much of the next few days together.
At around 7pm on Tuesday, August 30, Massey was in her bed while she was in the shower.
He began looking through her phone and found messages which "suggested she had been unfaithful with two other men"
The men were Anthony Murphy and Graham Roberts who he considered to be his "best friend".
Later the killer confessed to police he "saw red" and attacked Ms Forest by confronting her when she got out of the shower, grabbing her by the neck and "straddling her" on the bed.
He repeatedly struck her on the head and face with his fists then placed both hands around her neck.
Massey squeezed and "didn't stop" until she "went floppy" and then headbutted her and said: "Was it worth it? Was it worth s***ging them two people?"
In what Mr Ford described as "macabre and sadistic" behaviour, the murderer then covered her dead body with a towel, placed a watch on her wrist and Moschino shoes on her feet.
He then put a handbag over her arm and sunglasses over her face and positioned a jewellery box on top of her.
Massey explained to officers he had "ruined her beautiful face and decided to put some nice things on her because she always used to look pretty".
He added that he "wanted to make her look better, because he had ruined her face and he still loved her".
But after finding a pregnancy test nearby, Massey stabbed her in the womb with a kitchen knife - although it was later confirmed she had not been expecting a baby.
Then, he took a green pen and wrote "my best mate" next to this wound before scrawling "slag" on one thigh and the word "baby" on the other.
Massey and Ms Forest had been drinking vodka mixed with Fanta beforehand and he continued to drink in the property after the murder.
He also bought £400 of cocaine and took the drugs, after making a £500 withdrawal from the cash machine at the Asda supermarket shortly after her murder using her debit card.
A further £500 withdrawal was made in the early hours, before it was used at Mollie's Bar in St Helens town centre.
He sent messages from his own device to Mr Murphy at 4.30am, saying in another at 6.15am "I'll come for those you love".
Around the same time, Massey began sending messages to Mr Murphy's brother's partner - believing her to be Mr Murphy's own girlfriend.
Massey said Mr Murphy had been "f***ing my fiancée and now she's pregnant", adding in another text: "She thought I was out for the night, but I came home early.
"He jumped out of the window, which I'm really impressed with because we are three floors up. Just so you know, Anthony is properly dead now - no one f***s my fiancée."
The defendent later discarded Ms Forest's phone in a nearby field.
Mr Murphy had met Ms Forest on one occasion "engaged in sexual activity", before her boyfriend returned to the address.
Massey arrived at the scene at around 8.30am on August 31 then took him into the bedroom and showed him Ms Forest's body, telling him "look what you've f***ing caused".
He then began attacking him with the same blade, "going for his ears".
The knifeman later told police the was trying to cut Mr Murphy's ears off and was "intending to throw him out of the window".
He was stabbed three times to the back and twice in the neck, but was able to flee to a neighbouring flat for help.
Mr Murphy was rushed to Aintree Hospital and underwent surgery, having lost 20% of his blood. He was discharged after a week.
He flagged down a taxi to take him to Mr Roberts' workplace in Norris Green.
The killer had confronted Mr Roberts in a phone call and was "angry", but had not made any threats.
Massey walked straight into Mr Roberts' offices at 6.30pm, and chased him out of the building while brandishing the scissors.
Massey said: "I'm gonna kill you if you think you can get away with this" and struck him with the implement out on the street, causing him to fall to the floor.
A witness also heard him say: "I don't care, I'm doing 20 years anyway - I've killed two people already."
Mr Roberts disarmed him and jumped into a passing car, instructing the driver to take him to a nearby pub. He had sustained stab wounds to his right arm, chest and behind his right ear.
Massey was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder
Massey said he had stabbed Mr Roberts in the back "like he done to me" and accused him of "sharking her" in messages on Facebook.
Mr Travers told the court his client was "clearly preoccupied" by the thought of Ms Forest being pregnant, but "did not actually believe she was pregnant".
He added: "It is exceptional for someone to have made full admissions and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity for three offences where there is an intent to kill.
Mr Massey did everything he could after his arrest to start making very small steps to making amends for his actions."
Massey admitted murder, two counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years.
Sentencing, Judge Brian Cummings KC said: "This was undoubtedly a brutal murder. It was apparent that the victim, I regret to say, must have endured significant mental and physical suffering before she died.
