Appeal court judges were urged yesterday to increase the jail sentence on a man who admitted murdering his ex-girl friend in a frenzied knife attack.
Conor Doyle (23), of Limestone Road, Belfast, was jailed for 10 years for murdering Ms Angela Snoddy in her Newtownabbey home in October 2002.
The mother-of-two was stabbed 70 times and her throat was cut the day after Doyle was served with court papers ordering him not to molest her.
The Attorney General referred the case to the Court of Appeal because he believed the sentence was unduly lenient.
Mr Bernard McCloskey, QC, for the Attorney General, said no aspect of Doyle's culpability could be overlooked or diminished in measuring his guilt for such an appalling murder.
He said the trial judge had erred in his application of the sentencing guidelines. "He should have fastened onto a minimum term of 15 to 16 years because the mitigating factors did not outweigh the aggravating factors." Mr Frank O'Donoghue, QC, for Doyle, said his client's culpability "was significantly reduced because he suffered from mental instability, which lowered his degree of responsibility".
The three appeal judges reserved their decision.