Christopher Lumsden denied murder

A lawyer who stabbed his wife to death after she told him she was leaving him has been released after serving less than half of his sentence.

Christopher Lumsden, 55, pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Manchester Crown Court in February 2006 and was sentenced to five years.

Lumsden killed his wife Alison, 53, at their luxury home in Bowdon, near Altrincham, on 16 March 2005.

The probation service confirmed he had been released on licence.

Lumsden had served his time at Sudbury Open Prison in Derbyshire.

A spokesman for the National Probation Service in Derbyshire said: "Christopher Lumsden is currently out of prison and is under licence and being supervised by the Derbyshire probation service."

Stabbed repeatedly

The spokesman did not say when Lumsden was released.

Lumsden, who was a partner at international law firm Pinsent Masons in Manchester, attacked his wife five days after she had told him she was leaving him for a family friend.

During his trial, Lumsden told the court how he had tried to put on a brave face despite knowing of his wife's affair but "broke" on the night of the attack.

He plunged a 12cm kitchen knife into his wife's back and continued to stab her repeatedly in the face and neck.

He denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.



