Lawyer who killed his wife is released after just two years - and inherits £950,000 from her estate

Christopher Lumsden, 54, was said to have "snapped" after his wife Alison, 53, announced she was leaving him for a family friend.

He attacked her at their £1.4million mansion, slashing her on the face and neck with a knife so badly a pathologist could not count the number of wounds she had suffered.

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Lumsden, a partner at the international law firm Pinsent Masons, was cleared of murder but jailed for five years for manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

The jury heard that the father-of-two was suffering from a "depressive condition" at the time of the attack after being diagnosed with muscular dystrophy.

He was released on licence last September after serving around 18 months of his sentence and is now in line to receive £1million from her will, made five years before her death.

By law, a person convicted of manslaughter cannot inherit money from his victim.

But the courts can make an exception if the killer suffered from a mental disorder at the time of the crime.

Mrs Lumsden's relatives are said to be "devastated" by his apparently lenient punishment but were too upset to comment.

Campaigners at Support After Murder and Manslaughter, a charity for relatives of those who have been killed, condemned the inheritance.

Rose Dixon, the group's national development officer, said: "It is absolutely ridiculous that someone who has killed their wife, partner or lover is able to benefit from their will.

"We see many, many families who are devastated by this issue every year and find it completely unjust.

"It is astonishing that someone who commits a crime like this can go on to benefit.

"We are lobbying the Home Office for a change in legislation because it is simply unfair."

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Lumsden led a seemingly happy life amid the dinner parties, tennis clubs and bridge evenings of the Cheshire set in the exclusive suburb of Bowdon, near Altrincham.

But his wife of 24 years, a former Sotheby's auctioneer, was having an affair with married businessman Roger Flint, 58.

In March 2005, she told her husband and asked for a divorce.

But, after spending several days putting his affairs in order, he attacked her when she returned home after spending the evening with her lover.

Despite the horrific attack, his wife's family stuck by him for the sake of their children, Thomas 22, and Kate, 20.

It later emerged that Mrs Lumsden, 53, left her husband a £950,000 legacy as part of her estate which also included the family's home.

The mansion was sold last November to Warrington-based Greenlink Estates for £1.4million.

Lumsden began a legal battle last year to get the money from the will and sale of the house.

The former solicitor, who was banned from practising law for life, will remain on licence until March 2010. He can be instantly recalled to prison if he commits any other offence.

Manchester-based solicitors Lomax Geddes and Co, which represents the family, refused to comment.