A man murdered his girlfriend by stabbing her to death 39 times – a jury has ruled this morning (Tuesday).

Weston Mercury: Lisa Marie Thornton died aged 36.Lisa Marie Thornton died aged 36. (Image: Avon and Somerset Constabulary)

Owen Pellow killed Lisa-Marie Thornton last November and a jury took less than three hours to find him guilty.

Her family say they cannot understand why Pellow committed such a callous act.

Pellow always denied killing Ms Thornton after her body was found in Burnham-on-Sea on November 23.

He claimed she stabbed herself at their home in Berrow Road but a post-mortem report revealed the scale of her injuries.

Jurors were not fooled by his story and found him guilty of murder.

Ms Thornton was 36 years old when killed and had three daughters who say their lives will never be the same again.

One said: “I won’t have my mum to help prepare me for prom, she won’t be able to see me at my wedding and her grandchildren won’t ever know who she was.

“I can’t understand how someone could be so callous to take such innocent life wrongly away from them and their family.

Another said; “My future will never be the same without my mum in it.

“And I will forever be hurt by the loss of my mum. I’m missing a part of me that will never return.”

In her statement, Ms Thornton’s mother said: “No words can describe the loss of my beautiful daughter Lisa-Marie.

“I’m crying most days and just can’t believe she’s gone – my heart is broken.”

Police said Pellow’s attack was ‘frenzied’ and he had failed to take responsibility for his crime.

Pellow is due to be sentenced this afternoon.