Review of killer's sentence

The five-year sentence given to Susan Christie, the woman soldier who killed the wife of her army officer lover, is to be reviewed. The Court of Appeal in Belfast granted an application by the Attorney General, Sir Nicholas Lyell, for leave to review 24- year-old Christie's sentence on the grounds that it was unduly lenient.

Christie, a former Ulster Defence Regiment soldier from Portadown, Co Armagh, was jailed for the manslaughter of Penny McAllister, 24, the wife of her lover Duncan McAllister, 31, a captain in the Royal Signals. A jury at Downpatrick Crown Court acquitted Christie of murder in June on the grounds of diminished responsibility because of her infatuation with the captain.

Christie lured Mrs McAllister, of Arundel, West Sussex, to Drumkeeragh Forest Park, near Ballynahinch, Co Down, in March 1991 and cut her throat with a boning knife, the jury heard.

The sentence provoked an outcry and within weeks Sir Nicholas announced he would apply for a review, which will now begin on 12 October.