Emmerdale's Robert Sugden has been sentenced to life in prison.
Robert received the devastating news in Thursday night's first episode (October 24), crushing Aaron Dingle and Victoria Barton as they watched on from the public gallery in court.
The fan favourite had pleaded guilty to murder, after his attack on evil Lee Posner led to the rapist passing away in hospital earlier this month.
Summing up the case after Robert's plea, the judge said: "This was a senseless act of pure violence. Your actions clearly were not in self-defence.
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"You may not have intended to kill a man, but you knew – and you accept by your plea of guilty – that when you hit Mr Posner, you intended to cause him significant harm. He has died as a consequence of that action.
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"I've taken into account your plea of guilty, made at the earliest opportunity, and the other mitigating factors advanced by your counsel.
"However, there is only one sentence I can give you, Mr Sugden, and that is life imprisonment. I fix the term at 14 years. You will not be considered for parole until you have served the full amount of that term."
Before Robert was led away to begin his sentence, he and Aaron expressed their love for each other in the courtroom.
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Emmerdale bosses announced Ryan Hawley's departure from the role of Robert earlier this year. His final scenes are still expected to air in a future episode.
Lee's mum Wendy was in court to watch as Robert heard his fate. She was joined by Lee's brother Luke – the man Victoria had befriended recently.
Fans had long suspected that Luke had a connection to Lee, although Luke was unaware of the fact when he was getting to know Victoria and was just as surprised over the coincidence.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
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