Paisley man jailed for life for murdering neighbour

A man who murdered his neighbour by smashing him on the head eight times with a machete has been jailed for life.

The High Court in Glasgow heard callous Adrian Atkinson, 48, left Stephen Wallace to die and later bragged he had “done him in”.

Mr Wallace, 43, lay for two weeks at his Williamsburgh Court flat in Paisley, before being discovered by a concerned friend.

His head injuries were so bad he had to be identified by his fingerprints.

Atkinson pled guilty to murdering Mr Wallace on February 18 by repeatedly striking him on the head and body with the bladed weapon.

Judge Lord Matthews jailed Atkinson for a minimum of 16 years before he can apply for parole.

He said the post-mortem findings “are eloquent of a brutal and sustained attack” on his victim who “appears to have been helpless”.

On hearing the sentence a man in the public gallery shouted “Yes” and “murdering b**” and was taken out by police.

A plea of not guilty to taking a picture of Mr Wallace after he was dead was accepted by prosecutors.

The court heard Atkinson was at his friend Stuart Lister's house nearby until 3.45pm with him and his partner Sharon McKirdy.

He was captured on CCTV getting out the lift on 12th floor of Williamsburgh Court where he and Mr Wallace lived.

At 6.10pm he was captured again coming from the stairs of the ground floor and going out of the fire exit, wearing a different jacket from when he was seen earlier.

The court heard he went to Mr Lister's house again.

Advocate depute Stewart Ronnie said: “The accused said 'I've done that Stephen in' or 'I've just killed Stephen'.

“Mr Lister asked the accused what he meant and he repeated that he had 'done Stephen in'.”

Miss McKirdy was shocked and left the house despite Atkinson pleading with her not to, then he left.

Days later on February 25, Atkinson – known as John the painter to his friends – went to stay at another friend's house while he decorated it for her.

Meanwhile, a concerned friend and neighbour of Mr Wallace, Scott McTavish went to his door on February 28 with the concierge but got no reply.

On March 4, he reported Mr Wallace to the police as missing and explained that he was worried something might have happened.

Mr Ronnie said: “Mr McTavish remembered that Mr Wallace had given him several sets of keys over the years in case Mr Wallace lost his key.”

He found a key he thought was Mr Wallace's and was able to open the door with it. There was no lights on and mail piled up and a “strong smell”.

Mr McTavish saw his friend sitting in an armchair and thought he was dead.

The court heard he phoned the police back and told them he found Mr Wallace dead which they later confirmed when they arrived at the flat.

Mr Ronnie told the court Mr Wallace was found with significant head and facial wounds and was “covered in blood”.

A post-mortem revealed Mr Wallace “multiple blows to the head” including eight main wounds and he had no defensive wounds.

Skull fractures had fragmented and were driven into the brain which the cause of death.

Miss McKirdy and Mr Lister later gave statements that Atkinson had boasted about his actions after the motiveless attack.

During investigations Atkinson claimed he last saw Mr Wallace on February 17, but a small bloodstain was found on his jacket and on the handle of his flat door that matched his victim.

Defence counsel John Scullion QC said his client had been drinking heavily and has no recollection of his actions but accepts responsibility and expressed remorse