Delivery driver admits murdering partner after football match

Amanda McAlear was discovered by her son and pronounced dead at the scene

A delivery driver has admitted killing his partner after returning home from a football match.

John Higgins, 63, fatally attacked Amanda McAlear at her flat in the Barmulloch area of Glasgow on 7 May 2022.

The 50-year-old's body was found by her son when he visited her home the next day.

Higgins was told he faces a life sentence when he returns to the High Court in Glasgow in September.

His not guilty pleas to the assault and rape of another woman were accepted by Lady Haldane.

The court heard Higgins had attended a match and gone to a pub before getting a taxi to Ms McAlear’s flat.

The couple had been together for about four years.

Ms McAlear had also returned home having visited her elderly mother.

Higgins later told his sister and brother-in-law he had a "fight" with Ms McAlear during an unplanned visit later that night.

The court also heard Higgins had told his sister that he had "seen red" and reckoned "things had went too far".

She is said to have been killed between 18:48 and 21:46 that night.

John Higgins admitted killing Amanda McAlear at the flat in Glasgow

The exact details of the attack are unknown, but prosecutors stated he grabbed her and repeatedly punched her in the head and body before strangling her.

The killer later left Ms McAlear in the flat, where she was discovered by her son that evening.

He called 999 but his mother was pronounced dead when paramedics arrived.

Higgins did not make any mention of Mrs McAlear being hurt when he visited his sister.

He went to a police station the following day with a lawyer and was charged in connection with the killing.

The court heard Mrs McAlear had a "close and loving relationship with her family," but her death meant she missed the birth of her youngest grandchild.

'Brutal attack'

Lady Haldane adjourned the case for reports.

She told Higgins: “You have pleaded guilty to taking the life of your partner Amanda McAlear in the truly tragic circumstances described."

Det Chief Insp Craig Riddell said: "This was a brutal attack on a woman who should have been safe in her own home.

"Amanda’s family have been left absolutely devastated and our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.

"We hope that this conviction brings at least a degree of closure for everyone involved."