A WOMAN convicted of taking part in the horrific murder of Southampton man Jamie Dack is appealing against her conviction.

Donna Chalk is taking her case to the Court of Appeal in a bid to clear her name.

The 25-year-old is also appealing against the length of her minimum sentence of life imprisonment imposed on her last month at Winchester Crown Court.

She was told she would serve at least 25 years behind bars before the Parole Board would consider her case.

Chalk was found guilty with three Southampton men of the murder of Jamie who had been held captive in a one-bedroom flat at Bevois Mews, Southampton over Easter last year.

He was beaten, gagged and tortured for his cashcard number before he was eventually stabbed to death.

His body was discovered in a burnt-out skip on an industrial site after it had been set ablaze with petrol.

Unlike co-accused Ryan Woodmansey and Andrew Dwyer-Skeats, Chalk did not give evidence at the trial.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Walker told the trio plus Lee Nicholls, who had pleaded guilty at an earlier trial to his murder, that the “orgy of violence” inflicted on the trusting 22-year-old had been “chilling.”

Only death had brought “release from the pain” for him.

They had all demonstrated “sadistic behaviour” by taking photos of Jamie as he lay injured and dying – the only purpose to gain pleasure.

He labelled Chalk as “manipulative” in making spurious allegations about the dead man which in turn prompted the men to unleash brutal violence on him. He added that she had “delighted” in her sense of power.

Appeal Today, barrister Richard Martin confirmed that Chalk had appealed against her conviction and sentence, but the grounds of the appeal have not been released.

Nicholls, 31, who the judge regarded as the leader, received a 34-year term; Woodmansey, 32, was jailed for 30 years and Dwyer-Skeats, 27, for 32 years.

After the hearing, Jamie’s family released a statement, saying: “Some people favour the death penalty. We’d rather they had a long time to rot in jail where they contemplate what they did.

“There is no joy in winning a case, only some measure of justice.”