Man admits killing Glasgow pensioner as trial draws to a close
A knife thug who murdered a pensioner in a Glasgow street dramatically changed his plea before the end of his trial.
A knife thug who murdered a pensioner in a Glasgow street dramatically changed his plea before the end of his trial.
Peter Telfer was captured on CCTV knifing 76-year-old John Baker twice in the back, only days after being granted bail.
The injured man then flagged down a passing refuse truck with three council workers who phoned an ambulance.
Tragically, the pensioner - who had recently been given the all clear from cancer - later died at Glasgow Royal Infirmary hospital.
The attack happened around 12.25am on June 29, a matter of hours after Telfer robbed Victoria Weston of her bag outside Glasgow's Central Station.
Shortly afterwards he tried to rob Karen Bowman of her bag at a bus stop in Trongate, before making his way to Calton where the murder took place.
Telfer had only been granted bail on June 27 at Glasgow Sheriff Court after being charged with an alleged assault and attempted robbery at a shop on Shettleston Road.
His movements on June 28 around Glasgow city centre were captured on CCTV, as well as the attack on Mr Baker on June 29 and him walking down a nearby street afterwards.
The 25-year-old went on trial last week at the High Court in Glasgow for a string of charges including the murder, robbery and attempted robbery.
But after the prosecution had lead all evidence, in a dramatic turn of events, Telfer pled guilty to the three charges after the court heard “overwhelming evidence”.
Cleansing worker Paul Donohoe, 54, told jurors he and his two colleagues were flagged down by Mr Baker who was standing in the middle of the road.
He told the court the man said “I've been stabbed” and added: “He looked like he was in pain”.
The witness said by the time they got out the vehicle the man had “fallen to the ground” and his colleague Alan Miller asked Mr Donohoe to get his phone.
Mr Donohoe told jurors “he was leaning against my legs".
Advocate depute Ian McSporran, prosecuting, asked: “How did he appear to you to be at this time?”
Mr Donohoe replied: “He appeared as if he was ready to collapse, I was just hoping the ambulance would come in time.”
Mr McSporran asked: “Were you able to converse?” and the witness replied: “Not converse, he was calling out along the lines of 'I have a bad heart', I can't breathe right'.”
The court was told that he appeared “seriously injured” and that the man “passed out” while Mr Miller was on the phone to the ambulance service.
A recording of the 999 call made by Mr Miller was played to jurors, one person was heard to say there was two wounds on Mr Baker's back and that he has “trouble breathing”.
At the hospital Mr Baker was in cardiac arrest and had suffered two stab wounds to his back both causing internal bleeding and resulted in significant blood loss.
Despite a blood transfusion the bleeding could not be stopped and he was pronounced dead at 1.46am.
In evidence air hostess Victoria Weston, 26, described the moment Telfer pounced on her close to Central Station.
She said: “He was pointing the knife while trying to pull the bag away from me.
“He had one end of the strap, I had the other and we were tussling.
“It was very frightening and I felt my adrenaline was pumping through my body.”
The attacker eventually “yanked” the bag away – but Miss Weston as well as two passers-by who came to her aid initially gave chase.
She later got the bag back after alerting police. Foreign currency was missing from it.
Judge Lord Matthews continued the case and told jurors: “The evidence in this case is about as overwhelming as it can get.”