A MAN who stabbed his girlfriend to death in a frenzied attack has been jailed for a minimum of 22 years.

Gerald Palmer, 50, stabbed Carrie Izzard 29 times then left her to die in the hallway of her Herstmonceux home.

Palmer befriended the 47-year-old in 2014 following the sudden death of her husband from a heart attack.

They both owned shops close to each other in Sidley, near Bexhill.

Earlier this year Mrs Izzard became suspicious of Palmer’s behaviour and suspected he was cheating on her so ended the relationship.

Upset by the break up, Palmer, from Battle, drove to her home in West End, Herstmonceux, on March 20.

She had been on the phone to her mother, telling her of her optimism for the future, when she heard Palmer at the door at around 11am.

On opening the door, Palmer launched into the frenzied knife attack in the hallway, stabbing her 29 times.

He left her to die from her injuries while he cleaned himself up and left the knife in the bathroom sink.

He took her shop takings and keys before returning to his angling shop.

Friends and family became concerned when Mrs Izzard did not answer her phone and the following day they called the police.

Officers found her body slumped against a door inside the house and a manhunt was launched for Palmer.

He was found at his shop with self inflicted knife wounds to his neck and stomach and was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

He was taken into custody later that evening.

Palmer was charged with murder and originally pleaded not guilty.

At Hove Crown Court on Tuesday he changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced to life with a minimum of 22 years.

Detective Superintendent Jason Taylor, said: “Palmer has been exposed as a man who wheedled his way into Carrie’s life at a time when she was most vulnerable and then sought to control her.

"Palmer was a manipulative man who gave little but took a lot.

"When Carrie finally broke free, he could not accept it; and when his initial attempts to win her back were unsuccessful, he became spiteful and bitter, tragically ending her life in a violent and cruel way.”

Her family paid tribute to her in a statement, saying they will never get over what happened to her.

They said: “The loss of Carrie was and still is a devastating shock and in such violent, unloving and cruel circumstances is something which we will never recover from.

“The realisation of losing her hits us in waves and we are still finding it hard to deal with our loss. We will never again be able to share the joys of life, see her bright smile, hear her laugh, sing or banter with her in humour which we shared. "Following her death, we were denied being able to see her to say goodbye."