A LAWYER who killed his wife in a frenzied knife attack has been freed early after just two years of his jail sentence.

Christopher Lumsden has been released 'on licence' after serving less than half his five-year jail term.

He stabbed his wife Alison in the bedroom of their Cheshire mansion after she returned from a dinner date with her lover.

Lumsden could be in line for a second huge pay-out following the sale of the £1.4m home in Bowdon, near Altrincham, where he carried out the attack.

In her will, Alison had previously left Lumsden, 54, her £1m fortune. As the mansion was in her name, it is part of the estate she bequeathed to Lumsden.

But Sheila Hannam-Andrews of Support After Murder and Manslaughter, a group for relatives of people who have been killed, said: "The sentence is ridiculous and now it looks like he will benefit from everything."

In July, the M.E.N. reported that Lumsden - who is not considered a risk to the public - was being released during the day from open prison to do unpaid work at a law centre.

He was sentenced to five years in February, 2006, but he was eligible for release this September, half-way through his sentence because of time already served on remand.

Developer

He will remain `on licence' until March, 2010, which means he is liable to be instantly recalled to prison if he commits any other offence. Lumsden is not free to return to work as a lawyer because he was struck off while he was in jail.

The detached Victorian home he once shared with his wife has been sold to a property developer.

Public documents obtained by the M.E.N. from the Land Registry show Warrington-based Greenlink Estates bought the property for £1.4m on November 16 last year.

As it had been owned in Alison's name, it forms part of the estate she bequeathed to Lumsden in a will made five years before the killing. Lumsden, who was convicted of manslaughter, will have to launch a legal battle to get the money.

Usually a person convicted of manslaughter cannot inherit from the person he has killed. In this scenario, it is likely the money will be placed in trust for Lumsden's two children. Lumsden is likely to have to apply to court which has the power to make an exception and allow the inheritance depending on the circumstances of the case, or if the killer suffered from a mental disorder at the time of the death.

During the trial, the judge accepted Lumsden was suffering from a `depressive condition'.

It is not known whether Lumsden actually received any of the inheritance Alison, 53, left him.

Lumsden was found not guilty of murder after arguing he was suffering an `abnormality of mind' at the time.

The M.E.N. visited Lumsden's sister Elizabeth Richards at her home, Gawsworth Hall, a Cheshire manor house, but no-one there was willing to comment.

Manchester-based solicitors Lomax Geddes and Co, which represents the family, failed to respond to our calls.