Man admits murdering flatmate in Glasgow
Gary Stevenson stabbed Katy Rourke after she refused to have sex with him
A man has admitted murdering his flatmate in Glasgow after she refused to have sex with him.
27 year old Gary Stevenson confessed to police that he killed 25-year-old fashion buyer Katy Rourke and told them: “I stabbed her. I think it was three times.”
He told officers: “If it wasn't her, it would be someone else. I just want to tell the truth for the sake of the family.”
Stevenson also admitted hitting her repeatedly before the knife attack saying” “I lost control we had a disagreement. I started to hit her and I didn't stop. I just kept goin' an' goin and goin, goin.'”
The High Court in Glasgow was told that Kathleen O'Rourke – known as Katy – rented a room in the Govan flat where hospital laboratory assistant Stevenson was the tenant. Katy had found the flatshare on Gumtree.
Her friends last heard from her when she texted at 1.20am on December 29. They became worried when she failed to turn up for work in the morning.
All day they tried to contact her and got no response to phoning and leaving messages on the Whatsapp messaging system for Katy, who worked for Quiz Clothing in Glasgow.
Her manager at work was so concerned that she phoned Katy's mother who made an appeal on Facebook for her to get in touch.
Sometime after 4pm Katy's friendsr went to the flat to see if they could find her and saw her car parked outside.
Despite repeated knocking there was no answer.
Advocate depute Bruce Erroch, prosecuting, said: “They went out into the back garden and noticed one of the rear windows of the flat was open and a light was on.
“They thought if a light was on Katy must be in and phoned the police.”
As the three friends waited they saw two uniformed officers on patrol and explained the situation to them.
The police put a truncheon through letterbox and noticed that something was blocking the front door.
Other police officers arrived and a decision was made to force the front door.
They found the doorway blocked by various pieces of furniture.
A search was made of the flat and Katy's naked body was found in her bedroom. She was dead and has two slash wounds and a smaller puncture wound to her lower back.
A large kitchen-type knife was lying on the bed beside the former cruise ship worker's body.
When police spoke to neighbours one of them mentioned hearing a noise at 5am which she described a “banging like scaffolding.”
Stevenson when questioned by police he said that her and Katy had been drinking and he claimed one thing led to another and they had sex.
He told police that later when he woke Katy up and asked her to have sex with him again she refused because she had work in the morning.
Stevenson then said he lost control and began hitting her as she fought back. He punched her repeatedly in the face and put his hands round her throat.
As terrified Katy screamed for help, Stevenson went into the kitchen, got a knife and stabbed her three times.
He told police: “She started fighting back so that's when I took a knife from the kitchen and used that to make sure she stopped moving, that's it.
“I've never been in trouble for violence. But when I did lose control, it just felt like there was nothing to stop me. There were no moral boundaries left in my life.”
The fatal wound was to the sac round Katy's heart and pathologists say that after it was inflicted she would have suffered massive blood loss, unconsciousness and death.
Stevenson admitted murdering 25-year-old cruise ship worker Katy between December 29 and 30, last year, at a flat on Minto Street, Govan, Glasgow. by asking her for sex and when she refused he repeatedly punching her on the face, seizing her by the throat and repeatedly stabbing her and slashing her on the body with a knife.
After barricading the front door with furniture Stevenson left the flat with Katy's dead body inside by shimmying down a drainpipe.
He bought a knife, alcohol and painkillers and then went to North Berwick and at 3.03am phoned an ambulance saying he had slashed his wrists.
He was taken at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh for cuts and scratches to both wrists.
While he was there police received information he was suspected of murdering Katy.
While being driven to Glasgow he asked police what would happen when he arrived there and said, unprompted: “If it wasn't her, it would be someone else. I just want to tell the truth for the sake of the family.”
He also confessed to police, saying: “ A need to give Katy's family a chance to seek justice. I need to own up to it.”
Mr Erroch asked the judge to consider placing Stevenson on the Sex Offenders' register.
Judge Lady Rae deferred sentence on Stevenson until next month for background reports.
Defence QC Donald Findlay will give his plea in mitigation then.
Members of Katy's family who were in court sobbed as the grim details were heard.