A person who murdered his new girlfriend weeks after being bailed to her Stirling house has been jailed for a minimal of 23 years.
Christopher McGowan and Claire Inglis had been collectively eight weeks when he was launched to remain on the flat she shared along with her younger son.
Choose Michael O’Grady mentioned McGowan’s actions have been “past sadistic” as he issued a life sentence.
He mentioned Ms Inglis had suffered “nothing in need of torture” at McGowan’s arms.
“It was troublesome to painting the brutality of what you inflicted on her. You’ve gotten proven not a flicker of emotion, misery or regret,” the choose added.
Ms Inglis’ household, who attended on daily basis of the trial, wept on the Excessive Court docket in Edinburgh as McGowan’s sentence was learn out.
The choose mentioned her household and pals now confronted “the anguish of residing with out her”.
He added: “I shudder to think about what her final minutes have been like. To explain what you probably did as sadistic falls woefully in need of the mark.
“It was past sadistic.”
Ian and Fiona Inglis, Claire’s dad and mom, mentioned they have been elated their daughter’s killer was off the streets.
They mentioned they have been happy that the choose had “noticed via [McGowan’s] lies”.
Fiona Inglis informed BBC Scotland: “The reality got here out. He brutally murdered our daughter in chilly blood. He tortured her and killed her. We have got to reside with that for the remainder of our life.”
The Inglis household additionally referred to as for an investigation into the case, and say they need somebody to take accountability for the choice to permit McGowan to reside at their daughter’s house. They don’t assume he ought to have been allowed to reside there with the convictions he had.
McGowan murdered Ms Inglis after he was launched on bail to remain at her housing affiliation flat.
The 28-year-old had 40 earlier convictions, largely for breaches of the peace and breaches of bail, in addition to three convictions for assault.
One of many breaches of the peace from 2014 had a home aggravation, however this didn’t contain Ms Inglis.
He had additionally served an 18-month jail time period for assault and theft.
He was on 5 bail orders on the time of Ms Inglis’ homicide.
In accordance with regular process following a responsible plea, the Crown wouldn’t oppose bail except it had obtained particular intelligence that somebody was in danger.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish authorities mentioned choices on whether or not to grant bail have been for courts to make independently.
The court docket heard how bail was granted after McGowan mentioned he was determined to be launched after his mom’s demise, claiming he didn’t need to attend her funeral in handcuffs.
He claimed the couple have been in a “constructive” relationship, and vowed to kick his Valium behavior and cease consuming.
As soon as residing at Ms Inglis’ flat, he set about pawning her possessions – together with a watch she obtained for her twenty first birthday and her son’s PlayStation.
It was there he battered and strangled the 28-year-old mother-of-one, earlier than burning her with a lighter and pushing a moist wipe down her throat.
The jury took two hours to convict McGowan of murder.
He initially claimed to have been appearing in self-defence, however that declare was subsequently withdrawn in the course of the trial.
His account of the night time of the homicide ranged from claiming Ms Inglis had fallen down the steps of her flat, to saying she had overdosed on Valium and he had tried to avoid wasting her life.
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The trial heard how a taxi driver who picked up McGowan and Ms Inglis the earlier night in Stirling metropolis centre heard McGowan say “I am going to kill you” below his breath after Ms Inglis left the taxi.
She sustained 76 injuries during the attack. These included various blunt power impacts to the top and face, and intensive bruising to nearly her whole cranium.
Talking throughout sentencing, the choose informed McGowan: “It’s clear that you’ve got accepted no accountability and you’ve got gone to nice lengths to minimise your involvement.”
McGowan’s obvious regret, expressed to social staff after his conviction, was described by the choose as “a self-serving tissue of lies”.
