A 53-year-old man stabbed his partner to death in their home and then left her body in the bathroom.
As soon as the police entered his house, he whispered five words to them. “I killed my soul mate,” he said and repeated in court, according to the Mirror.
He was sentenced to life
In particular, John-Paul McLaughlan, 53, left Stacey Warnock with more than 50 stab wounds during a brutal knife attack at their home in Airdrie, Lanarkshire in the week before Christmas 2022.
The 51-year-old’s body had been in a bathroom for days before builder McLaughlan’s colleagues made the grim discovery when they went to visit him. He appeared at the High Court in Glasgow where he pleaded guilty to murder.
McLaughlan – who had previous convictions for violence – was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars. Prosecutor Lorraine Glancy KC recounted the horrific details of the murder.
McLaughlan sat in the dock with his hands over his ears for most of the hearing and began sobbing at times. The court heard the pair had initially started dating in 1998, split up but rekindled their relationship in 2010 and moved in together four years later.
His colleagues discovered the woman’s body
The 51-year-old’s body had been in a bathroom for days before builder McLaughlan’s colleagues made the grim discovery when they went to visit him. He appeared at the High Court in Glasgow where he pleaded guilty to murder.
McLaughlan reportedly told them: “I need a lawyer. She is dead. She’s been dead since Saturday. Do not call the police until I have arranged my defence.’
The men entered the bathroom and Stacey was slumped in the tub. Asked how he killed her, McLaughlan claimed it “doesn’t matter”. When the police arrested him he said: “Why are you handcuffing me? It was self defense. I did it. I used the same knife to hurt myself. It’s on my nightstand. She’s still dead and I did it”
Tags: Great Britain stabbed partner death words whispered police
