KILLER Christopher Jeffrey-Shaw could be out of prison in less than eight years after he was sentenced to manslaughter for burning Janet Muller to death.

He could walk free from prison at the age of 36 despite having burned Janet Muller alive at the age of 21 in the boot of his hired car in Crawley.

Appearing for the first time at Guildford Crown Court without a tie, he was sentenced to 17 years by Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith, who tore his defence to shreds and said he had lied to the jury throughout the trial.

Janet's family was disappointed Jeffrey-Shaw was not found guilty of murder at the end of his trial and yesterday that would have allowed the judge to pass a life sentence.

The judge said the only thing that stood between him and being a murderer was "a very thin line".

He said: “What you did was deeply shocking and callous beyond belief, and at every stage since you set fire to the car in which she died, you have lied and lied in an attempt to evade all responsibility for what you did.

“But you are responsible and always will be responsible for killing a young woman who did you no wrong.”

Janet Muller’s family and friends, who were present throughout the trial, wept as the judge summarised his sentencing.

Twin sister Selina said that half of her is gone and that she will never celebrate her birthday again.

Also present was her mother Ramona Muller, who said that because of what Jeffrey-Shaw had done, she could not bear the thought of having her daughter cremated because she had already endured one fire.

The judge accused Jeffrey-Shaw of burning the car to destroy vial evidence of how she had come to be in the boot.

He added: “You inflicted a terrible death upon your victim.

“To burn someone to death is a particularly vile way of killing them.

“Your victim was young and three-times vulnerable.

“She was a young woman, she was seriously ill in a manner that increased her vulnerability and she was in no position to defend herself.”

The judge accepted the jury’s verdict that Jeffrey-Shaw, 28, knew Janet Muller was in the boot of the car, but thought her to be dead, but rejected the killer’s defence and said he was present when the student was bundled into the boot.

Defence lawyer Bernard Tetlow attempted to point Lord Justice Stuart-Smith towards a similar case of Darren Peters who was part of a gang who killed TV executive Gagandip Sing in which Peters received 12 years for manslaughter.

The judge rejected the comparison and sentenced Jeffrey-Shaw to 17 years, of which he will serve half before being considered for release.

Jeffrey-Shaw threw his head back and sighed before walking from the dock down to the cells.