Man admits rape and murder of Jill Barclay in Aberdeen
Rhys Bennett, 23, pleaded guilty to the charges at the High Court in Edinburgh
Last updated 29th Jan 2024
A 23-year-old Fife man has pleaded guilty to the murder and rape of Jill Barclay in Dyce, last September.
Rhys Bennett admitted the charges at the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday morning.
He'll now serve life in prison, with a minimum of 24 years, and has been placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
'You burnt her alive'
The body of Jill, a 47-year-old mother-of-two, was found outside an address on Stoneywood Road after Bennett, who also admitted to attempting to defeat the ends of justice, tried to set it on fire.
Addressing Bennett in the court, Lord Arthurson said: "Your victim was still alive when you set that fire. To be crystal clear, you burnt her alive.
"Your offending is of an exceptional gravity – unimaginably wicked and indeed medieval in barbarity.
"You took away her future and the hopes and dreams of her wider family.
"No sentence that this court can impose will ever compensate. No sentence of this court could ever be sufficient in their eyes."
Days after her death, Ms Barclay's family said in a statement: "Jill was a deeply loved life partner, mother and daughter."