Killer sent father phone picture of murdered friend
Police ScotlandA man murdered his friend at his home in Glasgow and sent his own father a photo of the victim.
Christopher Howe, 38, fatally assaulted Paul Berry at his flat in Castlemilk on 18 November 2022.
A court heard Howe repeatedly punched and kicked Mr Berry, 46, during a fight between the two.
Howe was convicted of the murder on Friday after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Howe also sent a text his partner which read: “I have murdered someone.”
Mr Berry’s body was eventually discovered by his friend Henry Mackay on 21 November.
Jurors earlier heard in agreed evidence that the two men were “involved in an altercation and as a result Mr Berry died”.
Mr Mackay, 51, said that he found Mr Berry’s body on a Monday morning visit.
He recalled his face looked “blackish” as he checked for his pulse.
Mr Mackay told the court that he then alerted Gordon Thompson, who was a friend and neighbour.
He said: “He was in for five seconds and he looked at his face through the door of the living room and said he was dead.”
A 999 call was made and Mr Berry was pronounced dead a short time later.
Howe’s partner Tracey Wilkinson, 40, told the court that she spoke to him while he was “incohesive” in the early hours of the Saturday morning.
She also noticed blood on his shoes.
Ms Wilkinson added: “He said he had done something wrong, he just wanted to see me.”
‘I have murdered someone’
The witness claimed that she later received a text message, which she ignored, which read: “I have murdered someone.”
Howe’s father, Charles Alexander, said that he spoke to him on the Sunday and was told by his son that he had done a “bad thing”.
Prosecutor Lynsey Rodger said: “Did he say what the bad thing was?”
Mr Alexander replied: “He said that he thought that the man was dead.”
The witness also claimed Howe sent him pictures which he deleted.
It was agreed in evidence that the images were of Mr Berry “lying in a pool of blood”.
Howe’s shoes were later recovered from a green bin by police.
The trial heard Mr Howe was found to have suffered a fracture to his skull and died from head injuries.
Jurors were also shown CCTV of Howe entering and leaving Mr Berry’s flat on a number of occasions on the night of the murder.
Judge Lord Colbeck deferred sentence until next month pending background reports.
Howe was remanded in custody.
