Man who spiked lover's omelette jailed for life

LONDON (Reuters) - A school caretaker was jailed for life on Monday for murdering his lover after lacing her omelette with sleeping pills and punching her face so hard she suffered fatal brain damage.

Stephen Singer also set Dina Sharpe's flat on fire and trapped her in her blazing bedroom where she died.

He was ordered to serve at least 23 years in jail after a judge at London's Old Bailey court said he had committed the murder to find a "chilling" solution to a complex love triangle.

Singer, 37, also received a 20-year jail term, to be served concurrently, for the attempted murder of a toddler in the flat he set ablaze in Southwark, south London, last August, the Press Association reported.

Neighbours were unable to save school cleaner Sharpe, 39, after she desperately tried to get help by calling from a window of the fourth-floor flat.

After breaking down her door, they were only able to rescue a 17-month-old boy from the inferno.

The court heard that Singer had been having a three-year relationship with Sharpe while living with another woman.

Last summer the woman found out about his relationship with Sharpe and threw him out. Meanwhile Sharpe found out he was trying to get back together with his long-term partner.

The court heard that Singer bought sleeping tablets and lighter fuel before going to Sharpe's home.