Schizophrenic Locked Up For Glasgow Comedian's Death
Hugh Ferris was killed at his flat in 1997
A judge has ordered that a schizophrenic who murdered a comedian in his home almost 18 years ago be kept until further notice in a mental health institution. Lord Glennie ruled at the High Court in Edinburgh that Graham Fraser, 54, be made the subject of a compulsion order for killing Hugh Ferris in Pollokshields, Glasgow, in December 1997. The judge made a finding in July this year in which he concluded that Fraser murdered Mr Ferris "beyond a reasonable doubt." He made the finding at the end of an examination of facts surrounding the death of Mr Ferris - former friend of award winning actor Peter Mullan. He found that Fraser - who couldn't stand trial due to his extremely poor mental health - was a paranoid schizophrenic who murdered Mr Ferris, who was aged 58 at the time of his death. Fraser will now remain at a psychiatric facility until a mental health tribunal rules that he has recovered sufficiently from his condition. Mr Ferris, who lived at Leven Street in Glasgow's south side, was a popular figure around the city's pubs and clubs where he sang and told jokes for more than a decade. Award winning actor and director Peter Mullan knew Mr Ferris and he put up a £5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest shortly after his friend's death. However, the case baffled detectives until Police Scotland's cold case unit started investigating Mr Ferris's death in 2012. They cracked the case after Fraser walked into a police station and confessed to Detective Sergeant Philip Peacock,47, that he and a friend broke into Mr Ferris's house. The crook told DS Peacock that his friend tied Mr Ferris up and that the entertainer scratched him during a struggle. He also told the senior officer that he punched Mr Ferris three times before the 58-year-old started to started to breathe heavily. Mr Fraser also told DS Peacock that Mr Ferris told him that he had been injured during the confrontation. He and his friend, a man called Donald Murray, were present when Mr Ferris fell ill.