Man who beat friend to death in Greenock jailed for life

A man who beat his best friend to death with a dumbbell in Greenock has been jailed for life.

The brutal attack by 30-year-old Kyle McAuley on dad-of-three Kevin McCluskey took place in the early hours of March 24th at a flat in Nelson Street.

McAuley hit his friend over the head five times with a dumbbell and then as he lay dead or dying took photographs of his body and sent them to two women.

He then laughed during a 999 call in which he claimed he had come home and found a stranger lying outside his Greenock flat.

At the High Court in Glasgow judge Lord Mulholland ordered McAuley to spend at least 18 years in prison.

He told the dad-of-two: “Whether you are ever released will be a decision for the parole board.”

Lord Mulholland added: “You have been convicted of murdering your friend. You bludgeoned him with a dumbbell weighing seven kilos and hit him five times. While he lay dying you cared only for yourself.

“You photographed his dead or dying body and sent photos to your ex-partner and your then girlfriend.

“You moved his body and tried to make it look as if he had a knife and you had killed him in self-defence, but the jury saw through your lies.”

The court heard 28-year-old Kevin was smashed on the back of the head by McAuley and then after he fell onto a bed he was hit again and again.

As Kevin lay on his back on the bed - dead or dying - sick McAuley took a photograph of him and sent it to his then girlfriend.

Fifty minutes later after moving Kevin's body onto the floor of the bedroom McAuley took another photo and sent it to his former partner.

This photograph showed Kevin's face covered in blood and with horrific injuries.

AT 5.40am McAuley made a 999 call and when police arrived at McAuley's flat in Nelson Street Kevin's body had again been moved.

He was lying with his upper body in the hallway of the flat at the front door and his feet in the landing.

McAuley told police officers who arrived first at the murder scene referring to his friend Kevin: “Get this f**ing guy away from me.”

He initially claimed he didn't know Kevin, but later told police that he was acting in self-defence as his friend came at him with a knife.

He told the jury: " He said he was going to kill me. He was going nuts. He was right in my face, pushing his head against my face. I was scared."

But, McAuley admitted that he had already punched Kevin on the head and smashed him once over the head with the dumbbell before he claimed he saw a knife in his friend's hand.

Kevin suffered a fractured skull, smashed cheekbones, jaw and nose and bruising to the brain.

Former soldier McAuley, who served in Afghanistan in the Scots Guards, had no injuries.

Hours earlier CCTV footage showed the two friends playing fighting and laughing and joking in a Greenock pub during a night out.

No explanation was put forward for why McAuley launched a frenzied attack on his friend in the early hours of the next morning.

McAuley was convicted of murdering Kevin, then taking photographs of his body and sending them to his the girlfriend and his ex-partner and attempting to pervert the course of justice by moving Kevin's body and placing a knife near it.

Defence QC Thomas Ross said: “They had been friends for many years without a cross word. Hours before the incident they were caught on CCTV in a pub in good spirits and enjoying a night out.”

McAuley showed no emotion as he was led away to the cells.

Family and friends of Kevin shouted: “coward”, 'kill yourself” and 'scumbag' at him.

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