18 YEARS FOR JEALOUS LOVER WHO BEAT GIRL TO DEATH

A PUB chef who beat his girlfriend to death because he was paranoid she was cheating on him has been jailed for life.

Jordan Matthews, 24, will serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars for the “relentless and remorseless” attack on student Xixi Bi.

Matthews struck 24-year-old Miss Bi with dozens of blows after seeing what he believed to be a message from the dating app Tinder on her phone.

Miss Bi suffered 41 injuries, including massive bruising and multiple fractures in the prolonged assault that started at 1.30am on August 19 last year at their flat in Llandaff, Cardiff, South Wales.

At 8.30am she collapsed due to complications from her injuries, which included a broken jaw and ribs, and Matthews called 999.

Matthews pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murder. A jury rejected his claim he had not intended to hurt Miss Bi and found him guilty of murder after a 10-day trial.

Sentencing him at Cardiff Crown Court, Mrs Justice Nicola Davies said the assault was the “tragic culmination” of a course of physical and verbal abuse over a number of months.

She said: “You lied and lied again in order to attempt to exculpate yourself from the overwhelming evidence that during the early hours of August 19 2016 you relentlessly and remorselessly inflicted physical injury upon a defenceless young woman.”

Mrs Justice Davies outlined the abusive relationship between Matthews and Miss Bi from when they met in April 2015.

Friends and Xixi’s brother, BLOWS: ‘Paranoid’ Matthews attacked Xixi Bi Zexun, saw her become quieter, thinner and more withdrawn, and neighbours heard Matthews shouting at her.

They told the court they heard him say things such as: “I don’t want to do this, I’ve got to punish you for what you have done”, and: “If you don’t suck my dick, I’m going to hit you.”

Miss Bi was seen to have black eyes and stopped taking care of her appearance.