Court increases sentence for violent crime spree thug
A violent thug who murdered a man and raped two women as part of a ferocious four-day crime spree has had his sentence increased after it was referred to the Court of Appeal.
Carl Ellitts, 26, saw his life sentence with a minimum term of 28 years six months increased to a minimum term of 35 years after it was referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.
The Court heard that over four-days between 25 and 28 May 2023, Ellitts embarked on a spree of violence across the streets of Wolverhampton. He raped two women, violently robbed three men and assaulted another, before murdering Roy Deeley-Price after witnessing him withdrawing £10 from an ATM.
The attack on Mr Deeley-Price saw him stamping on his victim’s face, head, and chest, causing fatal injuries. Later, after attempting to use the victim’s bank card at a petrol station, he returned to where he had left him and dragged his body into a bush before raining down a further volley of stamps and kicks.
In the days before Roy Deeley-Price’s murder, he raped a woman and, in a separate attack, tricked another woman into thinking he had been robbed before also raping her.
Ellitts violently forced one man to withdraw £190 from an ATM and dragged a cyclist off his bike before robbing him of £60 and his bank card. He robbed a man for his shoes and £30 after holding a broken bottle to this throat and held a blade to another man.
The Solicitor General, Robert Courts KC MP, said:
This was a despicable spree of sickening violence against some very vulnerable people.
Ellitts used intimidation, fear and violence – to carry out unspeakable acts of murder, rape and robbery. No-one was safe from his ferocious and brutal attacks and sadly one man has lost his life after simply withdrawing some money.
The Court has quite rightfully increased Ellitts’ sentence, and I hope this case sends a stark warning to violent thugs that we will use the full force of the law to punish the most horrific crimes.
Ellitts was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years on 5 February 2024 at Wolverhampton Crown Court for one count of murder, four counts of rape, three counts of robbery, and one count of assault with intent to rob. This was later amended on 11 March 2024 to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 28 years 6 months, less 247 days credit for time spent on remand, to correct an error.
On 30 April 2024, the Court of Appeal increased Ellitts’ sentence to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 35 years, less 247 days credit for time spent on remand, after it was referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.