Carl Ellitts is jailed for murder, rape and robbery spree in Wolverhampton

Carl Ellitts was described by police as an "extremely violent bully" after his violent spree in Wolverhampton last May

A man who murdered another man and raped two women as part of what police called a "violent four-day rampage" has been jailed for a minimum of 27 years.

Roy Deeley-Price was stamped unconscious, dragged into a bush and left to die by Carl Ellitts who attacked him in Wolverhampton.

Prior to the murder in May, the 26-year-old raped two women and committed robberies in the city.

He was jailed for life at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday.

Warning - this story contains some graphic detail.

Ellitts, of no fixed abode, described by police as an "extremely violent bully", admitted murder, three robberies and an assault with intention to rob and was found guilty of rape at the court last month.

CCTV footage showed Ellitts talking to Mr Deeley-Price, 48, at the petrol station on Tettenhall Road on 29 May last year where he saw him withdraw £10.

He then followed him and launched a "ferocious" assault on him in the driveway of a nearby care home, the court heard.

Ellitts took Mr Deeley-Price's bank card during the attack and paused his beating as he attempted to buy a sandwich at the Shell garage but the card was declined, the court heard.

Roy Deeley-Price, 48, was found with fatal head injuries on Tettenhall Road

He returned to Mr Deeley-Price's body four times in the space of 11 minutes to continue his assault, kicking and stamping on his head at least 12 times.

A post-mortem examination showed his victim suffered multiple blunt force injuries to his face and head, detectives said, and his body was not found until the next morning.

Speaking from the witness box in court, Mr Deeley-Price's sister Clare Reynolds told how her family's lives "crumbled" when they learned the body was her brother.

Mr Deeley-Price, a father-of-two, had struggled with addiction and mental health issues but he was a "proud" father who loved his two children "dearly", she said.

Mrs Justice Stacey said his "life and his hopes for the future were cut short" the night he encountered Ellitts.

"It is hard to forget the brutal savagery of this sustained and merciless attack. You took his stolen bank card and swaggered to the garage. Six minutes later you went back to Roy and continued your attack," she said.

"You stamped on him again and again and again.

"In the words of his beloved Oasis, he just wanted to live, he didn't want to die, he wanted to grow his wings and fly but you never gave him the chance to do that.

"I'm sure from the ferocity of the attack that you intended to kill him and not just cause him serious harm and you did this for gain, although you didn't gain much from it.

"The fact he was killed for £10 was all the more heartbreaking."

Police filmed the arrest of Ellitts

Mr Deeley-Price's murder was preceded by several other crimes committed by Ellitts which started in the early hours of 26 May when he raped a woman after she approached him in St Peter's Square.

Later that day, he was approached by a man concerned he was not wearing any shoes.

Ellitts demanded his bank card and PIN and the man handed over money after being taken to a bank in Wednesfield.

That evening, he attacked and raped a second woman who approached him as she was concerned he was homeless.

On 27 May, he carried out another robbery, grabbing a victim's bag and dragging him along the floor.

The next day he approached a man who had just withdrawn some money from a cashpoint in St Martin's Square and threatened him with a knife but the victim managed to push him away.

That afternoon he targeted another victim on the Tettenhall Road, kicking him to the floor and putting a broken glass to his face before taking the victim's Nike trainers from his feet.

Det Insp Damian Forrest said it was a "shocking set of events"

Police managed to detain and arrest him on 30 May after an appeal and help from the community.

The two vulnerable women he raped suffered psychological harm including flashbacks and anxiety, the court heard.

Judge Stacey praised them for their bravery in coming forward.

Sentencing Ellitts, she said: "Many people have drug and alcohol issues but very, very few people behave as you did.

"You have a history of violence and intimidation, particularly towards women, who you have terrorised. You appear to have enjoyed exercising threats over people."

Det Insp Damian Forrest, from West Midlands Police, said Ellitts was a violent bully who carried out a "shocking set of events".

"He is someone who targets vulnerable people in society for his own self-esteem and for his own gain," he said.

"I think he did these offences so he could get money, buy drugs and to further his own anti-social lifestyle.

"It's the sums involved and the level of violence used that was particularly shocking."