A Belfast man has been given a life sentence after being convicted of the "heinous" murder of his gay lover.
Jailing 27-year-old Francis Patrick Ferris for the murder of his 36-year-old partner Noel Toland, Belfast Crown Court judge Mr Justice Gillen warned him he will have to serve at least ten years before he is even considered for release.
"There is no doubt this was a heinous offence where the life of a young man has been cut short at a tragically premature age," said Mr Justice Gillen, who added: "You have not only deprived him of his life, but you have also indelibly marked the lives of those who held him dear".
Family and friends of Mr Toland wept in the public gallery as Ferris, originally from Belfast pleaded guilty to murdering him at the home they shared on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown on March 27th last year.
Prosecuting QC, Mr Carl Simpson revealed that after brutally beating and strangling Mr Toland, Ferris went to a local garage to buy cigarettes and a pack of sandwiches.
Mr Simpson said that the couple, who had decided to move England to start a new life had spent the day drinking and then joined family and friends of Mr Toland for a sort of going away party in a Lurgan bar.
Describing the murder as an "extremely tragic episode" the Crown lawyer also revealed that about six months earlier Ferris had given Mr Toland a "savage beating", in which he "beat him black and blue", but that the pair had made up and became lovers again.
Defence QC, Mr Jim Lavery said by his guilty plea Ferris, who was sexually abused himself as a child, had shown genuine remorse and contrition and had not only saved the courts time and money but had also spared Mr Toland's family further anguish and trauma.
After the sentencing Mr Toland's sister Rosemary said while justice had been done, "a link has gone from our family that can't be replaced".