A butcher jailed for the rape and murder of university student Libby Squire could have his sentence increased after his case was referred to the Attorney General.

Serial sex offender Pawel Relowicz, 26, who worked at Karro Foods in Norton, was handed a life sentence with a minimum 27-year term last month after he was found guilty of the crimes.

Sheffield Crown Court heard he targeted Libby, 21, on January 31, 2019, before driving her to a secluded place, raping her and dumping her body into a river.

Libby, a philosophy undergraduate at the University of Hull, was discovered more than six weeks later in the Humber Estuary.

Relowicz’s sentence, handed down on February 12, could now be increased after his case was referred to the Attorney General.

A spokesman said: ​“We have received a request for the sentence of Pawel Relowicz to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

“The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider the case and make a decision.”

During the trial Sheffield Crown Court heard Relowicz “targeted” Libby after seeing her “drunk” and “vulnerable” in the streets of Hull, East Yorks, on January 31, 2019.

He then took her in his car to a remote playing field and raped her before dumping her “dead or dying” into a river.

Relowicz, admitted having sex with Libby but claimed it was consensual.

Libby’s body was recovered from the Humber Estuary on March 20, following the largest search in Humberside Police’s history.

Relowicz was initially arrested on suspicion of abduction but was then charged with and convicted for a series of different offences.

In the 18 months prior to Libby’s disappearance, it was heard Relowicz committed a series of sexually-motivated crimes in the student area of Hull. He broke into women’s homes and stole sex toys and underwear.

Relowicz was charged with Libby’s rape and murder in August 2019.

In his opening, prosecutor Richard Wright QC told the court Libby was out drinking with pals on the evening of January 31.

She was denied entry to a club for being too drunk before being put into a taxi and sent back to her shared house, it was heard.

Witness evidence and CCTV showed the student, originally from High Wycombe, Bucks, didn’t enter the property and instead roamed the streets.

A number of people reported seeing her in a drunk and distressed state, even lying on the pavement, in the minutes before she vanished.

Mr Wright told the court Relowicz, of Raglan Street, Hull, was prowling in the area seeking to commit more sexually-motivated offences when he spotted her.

CCTV footage showed the pair arriving at Oak Road Playing Fields, a short distance away, shortly after midnight.

Mr Wright said Relowicz raped Libby at the playing field before dumping her “dead or dying” into a nearby river.

He told the jury Libby would have been too drunk to consent or even be fully aware of what was happening.

An expert witness told the court Libby would have had a significantly reduced sense of awareness about getting into an unsafe situation because of the effects of cold weather and alcohol.

Due to the length of time between Libby’s disappearance and discovery pathologists were unable to determine a cause of death.