Matalan murderer Andrew Saunders' sentence reviewed Published duration 6 March 2017

image copyright Facebook image caption Lee Simmons and Zoe Morgan were found dead near Matalan on Cardiff's Queen Street

The jail term of a murderer who stabbed a couple to death in Cardiff city centre has been referred to the Attorney General's Office.

Andrew Saunders, 21, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 23 years on 28 February for the murders of Zoe Morgan, 21, and Lee Simmons, 33.

The couple were stabbed near the Queen Street Matalan store where they worked on 28 September, 2016.

The AG will decide whether to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal.

A spokesman for the office said: "We have received a request for the case of Andrew Patrick Saunders to be considered under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. The law officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider this case.

"The threshold to refer cases to the Court of Appeal is very high.

"A sentence can only be regarded as unduly lenient if there has been a gross error and it is significantly below the level that any judge could have reasonably imposed after considering the facts of the case."

image copyright Matthew Horwood image caption Andrew Saunders

After he pleaded guilty to both murders, Cardiff Crown Court was told Saunders and Miss Morgan had been in a relationship, but split up before she and Mr Simmons began a relationship in July 2016.

Saunders had been unhappy that his relationship with Miss Morgan had ended and made threats against her and Mr Simmons when he found out they were together.

Days before he murdered the pair, Saunders searched the internet for the best methods to kill people.

After the attack, Saunders phoned his mother and told her he had killed the pair. He also sent a text to his father saying "thanks for being a pathetic, useless father. Just killed two people, cheers".

Police later arrested Saunders at his family home, where he told officers: "I'm sorry, you know sometimes, you just snap."

media caption CCTV footage shows Saunders' movements moments before he stabbed the couple