A serial abuser who was jailed for at least 27 years for murdering his partner with a tyre iron is appealing against his conviction and sentence.
Mark Campbell, 37, was convicted of killing 48-year-old Jane Fitzpatrick and charges including rape, assault and abusive behaviour towards women between 2004 and 2021.
He had told Miss Fitzpatrick to discharge herself from hospital against medical advice before inflicting horrific head injuries on her in Glenrothes in August 2021.
She was among seven woman in the area who suffered at his hands during a campaign of physical and sexual violence.
Campbell claimed Ms Fitzpatrick fell and banged her head and he tried to stem the bleeding before they fell asleep in his car.
At the High Court in Edinburgh, he was found guilty of murder and 13 other charges.
He was handed a life sentence last month and told by judge Lady Poole he must serve 27 years before he can apply for parole.
He was placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.
Non-harassment orders were made prohibiting him contacting or attempting to contact survivors of the abuse.
Fife murderer launches appeal bid
Campbell has now launched a bid for freedom after instructing his legal team to challenge his convictions and the length of his sentence.
His appeal bid was lodged at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh and a hearing will take place at a later date.
He did not request to be released on bail pending his appeal and remains in custody.
Murdered after hospital visit
Campbell’s trial heard Miss Fitzpatrick was abused throughout their relationship, which began in September 2020.
He isolated her from friends and family, threatened her, monitored her movements and her social media accounts and damaged her mobile phones.
Before the murder, she had gone to hospital in Kirkcaldy after being sick and unsteady on her feet due to a head injury.
Campbell induced her to discharge herself from hospital against medical advice, before inflicting head injuries on her with a tyre iron.
He was found by police in the driver’s seat of his car, with Miss Fitzpatrick dead beside him.
Abuse victims
Several other women gave evidence of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
One former partner said during an assault on her in 2018 at a house in Glenrothes he pushed a finger into a healing operation wound on her back and dragged her from a bed.
Another said she was thrown down a flight of stairs and kicked in the stomach when she was pregnant.
Campbell also bit her on the head, tried to force drugs into her mouth and forced raw meat into her mouth.
Sentencing him, judge Lady Poole said: “Our society will not tolerate domestic abuse against women.
“The sentences the courts impose on abusers must reflect that.”
A Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service spokesman confirmed an “intimation of intention to appeal” against conviction and sentence had been lodged for Campbell.
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