GAVIN SARTAIN was warned he faces life in prison after admitting murdering his girlfriend in a frenzied knife attack.

Sartain, 31, pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court yesterday to murdering 23-year-old carer Michelle Suttle in a late night attack in June.

And it was revealed in court that she had ended up in hospital after previous attacks by Sartain.

Paramedics and police were confronted by an horrific scene when they found fatally-injured Miss Suttle in the hallway of the couple’s home in Baker Street, Oakes.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp told the court that she had suffered 39 stab wounds to her body – resulting in extensive internal injuries and extensive bleeding.

Officers had gone to the house after Sartain himself had called the police saying he had stabbed his partner.

He later told police: “I just went nuts. I deserve to die.”

Ms Suttle, a former Rastrick High School pupil, was a care assistant at Elm Royd care home in Brighouse.

After her tragic death family, friends and colleagues said she had a “heart of gold and could not do enough for anyone.”

The court heard the couple’s relationship had been marred by violence and arguments.

Mr Sharp said Miss Suttle had been admitted to hospital on four previous occasions, but she did not want anything done about those matters.

A neighbour described the pair as a nice couple when sober, but said they would wind each other up when they had been drinking.

The court heard how the couple had been drinking heavily the night before the killing at the neighbour’s house and the neighbour estimated that they had drunk two bottles of vodka between them.

Mr Sharp said they returned to their home around midnight when the violence between them turned lethal.

At some stage Sartain pulled a clump of hair from Miss Suttle scalp and he also took a knife from a kitchen drawer.

“With that knife he attacked Michelle Suttle,” said Mr Sharp.

“This was in the hallway of the house. She appears from the examination of the scene to have collapsed there almost immediately. Once she had collapsed the defendant, in what can only be described as a frenzied attack, inflicted a total of 39 stab wounds to her.”

The court heard that toxicological tests later showed that at the time of the murder Sartain was four times the drink-drive limit while Miss Suttle was about three-and-a-half times the limit.

During a telephone conversation with a police officer Sartain admitted killing his partner and told them to get there straightaway.

His barrister, Gordon Cole QC, said Sartain had always made it clear that he was very conscious of the massive, incalculable distress he had caused to Michelle’s family.

He said Sartain wanted the matter dealing with quickly and did not want to put them through the ordeal of a trial.

Mr Cole added: “The defendant says through me that he never intended to kill ... he says that he loved Michelle, still loves Michelle and regrets immensely that which took place.”

Mr Cole said his client knew he was going to get a period of life imprisonment, and he realised that whatever period the judge set as being the minimum term he would not to be released automatically at that stage.

Judge Peter Benson remanded Sartain back into custody to await his sentence this morning.