A man has been jailed for life after pleading guilty to murdering his former partner and her son with an axe.

Michael Kelly, 46, of Hatch Road, Stratton St Margaret, will serve a minimum of 30 years behind bars after admitting two counts of murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent at Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

Kelly apparently snapped because he could not deal with the crumbling of his relationship with Sally Cox last year.

Wearing a gruesome horror mask, Kelly used an axe to kill the 43-year-old and her 22-year-old son Martin Faulkner, at the house they shared in Banbury, Oxfordshire, on December 13.

The former line dancing teacher was arrested by police hours after their bodies were found in Mold Crescent.

Detectives believe Ms Cox’s daughter Amy, 19, at the time, and another girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, would also have fallen victim to Kelly had they not managed to escape while the attacks were going on.

Amy jumped from a first-floor bedroom window, suffering serious injuries as a result, after her brother stepped between her and Kelly.

In a statement issued through police after the case, relatives of the victims described their deaths as a “sad and meaningless loss”.

They said: “Today has seen justice done for Sally and Martin, although no sentence will ever be long enough for the hurt and suffering that he has put the family through, not least of all the suffering that Sally and Martin went through.

“The family would also like to thank Thames Valley Police for their help and support through this sad and meaningless loss.”

Kelly’s estranged wife Susanne Kelly, of Liden, said no punishment would ever be great enough for the father of her two young children.

She said: “I’ve heard the verdict and to be honest, he could have got longer.

“As far as I’m concerned, life means life – he took their lives so he should now be giving his life.”

The landlord of the house where Kelly had been lodging for two nights before the murders, said: “I was the last person to speak to him before he did it, and the first person to speak to him after it happened.

“I couldn’t believe it, he was fine when I spoke to him.

“He seemed quite chirpy and talkative, he talked about lots of things – his favourite music, what pasties he had in the fridge, it is just unbelievable. He didn’t seem affected by it at all, you would think it would disturb him, but he wrote on Facebook ‘A job well done’ so he must have been pleased with himself.”

Following sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Vigurs, of Thames Valley Police, said: “Sally Cox and her 22-year-old son Martin Faulkner were murdered by Michael Kelly in their home in Banbury on December 13 last year.

“Kelly has pleaded guilty today and I welcome the sentences handed down.

“These brutal murders were carried out by Kelly with an axe whilst he was wearing a gruesome horror mask.

“Sally Cox and Kelly moved into the house together and he had been accepted by her children in February last year. They separated in November 2010 and it would appear that Kelly was unable to deal with this separation.

“Our sympathies go to the family and I very much hope that what has happened here today may, in some small way, allow them to begin the next stage of their lives.”