A British businessman previously convicted of murdering his fiancée in a Paris hotel has been sentenced to an additional prison term for attacking his elderly father.

Ian Griffin, 57, was handed a four-year sentence with an extended one-year licence period at Liverpool Crown Court after being found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm and making threats to damage property. The court heard that Griffin assaulted his 83-year-old father, Bernard Griffin, at the family home near Warrington in May last year.

Griffin had previously been convicted in France for the 2009 murder of Kinga Legg, a Polish supermarket heiress. Legg sustained more than 100 injuries during the attack at the Hotel Le Bristol in Paris, where Griffin had been staying with her. After the assault, Legg’s naked body was discovered in a bathtub inside their £1,000-a-night hotel room. Griffin fled to the UK shortly after the incident but was apprehended five days later near Macclesfield living in a tent. He was originally sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2014, a term later reduced to 14 on appeal. Griffin was released in 2016 on medical grounds after serving 22 months.

Following his release, Griffin lived in a summer house at his parents’ property. On the day of the assault, Griffin had returned home from a pub visit. Bernard Griffin had been speaking with his other son, Adrian, on the phone, who expressed concern for his parents’ safety. Police arriving at the scene found Bernard with significant facial injuries. Body-worn camera footage showed Bernard sitting on a sofa, bloodied and visibly shaken, telling officers he feared for his life and described his son as “a different person when he has had beer.”

Court testimony revealed the attack lasted between 30 minutes and an hour. Bernard was punched, dragged to the floor, and stamped on before Griffin compelled him to sign a document transferring half of his estate to Griffin’s mother, Janet. Prosecutor Andrew Scott described the attack, partially recorded on Griffin’s mother’s phone, as “degrading” and noted Griffin’s verbal abuse, including threats to harm his father.

Additionally, the court heard that the police had been called the day before the assault due to Griffin threatening to “burn and bomb” neighbors’ homes.

During the trial, Griffin denied the assault, claiming he had been elsewhere in the house at the time. Representing himself, he said the incident followed weeks in which he alleged he was trying to protect his parents from blackmailers. He expressed remorse, characterizing his behavior as a “total meltdown.” His mother testified in his defense, describing him as a “very good son.”

In his victim impact statement, Bernard Griffin said he wished to have no further contact with his son and feared for his safety upon Griffin’s release. Judge David Swinnerton emphasized the vulnerability of the victim and highlighted the serious nature of the attack in imposing the sentence, noting the high risk of Griffin reoffending.