Jeffreys told he must serve at least 17 and a half years behind bars

Mother-of-two described Jeffreys as a 'very nice guy but possessive'

They had been dating for several weeks after meeting on dating site

She was punched in the head and strangled in attack last September

Pair had both been drinking before Jeffreys launched attack on girlfriend

A possessive boyfriend was jailed for life yesterday for murdering a mother-of-two who he met on dating website PlentyOfFish.

Darren Jeffreys, 47, repeatedly punched 45-year-old Karen Catherall in the head and strangled her in an alcohol-fuelled attack at her home in Gwernaffield near Mold, Flintshire.

The killer only called paramedics the following morning, and claimed he thought Ms Catherall was sleeping.

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Darren Jeffreys, 47, (left) was jailed for life for murdering mother-of-two Karen Catherall, 45, (right) who he met on dating website PlentyOfFish

Jeffreys, of Mold, who later admitted killing Ms Catherall, was yesterday told by a judge at the town's Crown Court that he would serve a minimum of 17 and a half years behind bars for her murder.

The court was told that Jeffreys and Ms Catherall had met on free online dating website PlentyOfFish, and had been seeing each other for several weeks at the time of the attack on September 13, last year.

The website boasts of being the largest site of its kind in the world, and has 88 million users.

The couple were described as being fond of one another, and were becoming increasingly close, the court heard.

On the morning of Ms Catherall's death, she and a friend had eaten breakfast at a Wetherspoons pub, where she was drinking cider, the court heard.

Jeffreys (left) is seen being taken into court for an earlier hearing, while Karen Catherall's mother Glenys Kier and her partner Esmor Evans are pictured leaving Mold Crown Court after yesterday's sentencing

She had told her the other woman that Jeffreys was a 'very nice guy but possessive', Owen Edwards, prosecuting, told the court.

Mr Edwards said Ms Catherall had later met up with Jeffreys, and the couple were seen drinking in Mold.

She returned home at around 7pm, with Jeffreys following her shortly afterwards - when he launched the savage attack.

It was not until the early hours of the following morning, at 2.35am, that Jeffeys called emergency services, claiming that he thought she was sleeping off the alcohol and he was unable to wake her.

But paramedics who arrived at the house found she had been dead for some time.

There was also evidence he had tried to cover up the killing, the court was told.

A post mortem examination revealed that her cause of death had been blunt force trauma to the head and mechanical asphyxiation.

Jeffreys had denied killing his girlfriend when interviewed by police, but in December last year admitted the murder.

Members of Ms Catherall's family give a statement outside court yesterday. Mr Justice Wyn Williams had said that Jeffreys subjected his victim 'to a ferocious, sustained and in the end deadly attack' in her own home

The court heard that Jeffreys had a previous conviction for assaulting one of his previous partners.

Andrew O'Byrne QC, mitigating, told the court that Jeffreys had acknowledged the obvious pain and loss of the victim's family.

'They will continue to suffer for some time to come although we hope in the fullness of time those feelings will abate but we recognise that they were never, ever fully go away,' he said, adding that the killing had not been pre-meditated.

Sentencing, Mr Justice Wyn Williams, said Jeffreys had subjected Ms Catherall 'to a ferocious, sustained and in the end deadly attack' in her own home.

He caused her 'very substantial internal and external injuries', particularly to her head and face, most probably caused by numerous, very hard, punches.

'The prosecution say that you literally battered her to death,' said the judge.

'In my judgment that is an appropriate description for what happened that night.'

Mr Justice Williams told the court that Jeffreys had committed a terrible crime, depriving Ms Catherall of her life, and her family of a loved one.

'This was senseless violence on your part, most probably fuelled by alcohol and your possessive and jealous nature,' he told the defendant.

This was senseless violence on your part, most probably fuelled by alcohol and your possessive and jealous nature Mr Justice Wyn Williams

The judge added that it had been several hours before Jeffreys called the emergency services, but added that any attempts to remove evidence of the killing was not an aggravating feature of the case.

The judge also said that Jeffreys knew the victim was the worse for drink, and therefore vulnerable, and he took the view Jeffreys had intended to kill Ms Catherall that night.

'The nature and ferocity of the attack was quite appalling,' he added.

Seven charges of assaulting four ex-partners, which Jeffreys had denied, were allowed to remain on the file.

Speaking after the hearing, a spokesman for Ms Catherall's said: 'We welcome the life sentence that has been given.

'However, Darren Jeffreys will never truly pay for taking the innocent life of Karen in such a horrific and violent way.

'We hope he is haunted by his actions for the rest of his life.

'He took away a mother from her two sons and all our lives have been affected by his selfish and evil actions.

'It has been an unbearable and heart breaking time for everyone who knew and loved Karen.

'Karen enjoyed life to the full and will be sorely missed - may she now rest in peace.

'We would like to thank North Wales Police, the CPS and everyone involved for their support over the last five months.'

DI Mark Hughes, of North Wales Police (NWP), added: 'Darren Jeffreys has been sentenced to serve a minimum of 17-and-a-half years in prison for the brutal murder of Karen Catherall.

'On behalf of NWP I would like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Karen.

'I can only imagine what they have been through and I hope this now gives them closure and allows them to move forward.

'NWP together with our partners provide support to victims of domestic violence and I would encourage victims to come forward.

'The conviction demonstrates our commitment to dealing with incidents of domestic violence and bringing those responsible to justice.