Man jailed for murdering his partner and brother
Peter Duffy was found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow.
- Published
A man has been found guilty of murdering his brother and his own partner in North Lanarkshire.
Peter Duffy killed John Paul Duffy and Emma Baillie between March and April 2022, leaving his brother’s body under a pile of rubbish in his Coatbridge flat.
Both victims were repeatedly stabbed and Ms Baillie had been strangled.
Judge Lord Scott told the 47-year-old it had been a “wicked killing” after Duffy denied the charges at the High Court in Glasgow.
Sentencing was deferred pending background reports.
Duffy also killed his brother's cat with an axe.
John Paul Duffy and Emma Baillie were found dead days apart
Duffy claimed that he discovered the bodies of both Ms Baillie, 26, and Mr Duffy, 51, but did not report it as he thought he would get the blame.
Police found him in a sleeping bag on the couch in Mr Duffy's living room in the High Coats flats on 10 April while carrying out a welfare check.
Officers initially discovered the dead cat in a pool of blood in the hallway of the flat which was in a "state of disarray."
They were able to rouse Duffy, who told them his brother was asleep in the bedroom.
One of the police officers present was later alerted to the discovery of his body under a pile of litter on another couch.
PC Emma Gibney told the court: "His skin was grey, eyes white and he looked as if he had been there for a period of time due to the state of decomposition."
She said Duffy, who had two bleeding wounds to the side of his neck, drifted in and out of consciousness.
A razor was later found near his body and a knife was recovered in his sock by medics who treated him.
He told a nurse he had to inflict the injuries upon himself as "he thought he would get the blame" for his brother's death.
He later said he stayed in the flat "in case the person who had been there came back".
John Paul's body was discovered at the High Coats flats in Coatbridge
Jurors were told that Ms Baillie did not appear as a witness against Duffy at a domestic abuse trial on 17 March.
Police searched Duffy's home on 12 April, when her body was discovered.
Det Con Nicola Batton told the court it was found covered in clothing at the bottom of the couch in the living room.
Emma was not reported as a missing person at the time.
The court heard she had likely been dead "for around 12 days" and her body was in an advanced state of decomposition.
Plan to blame brother
Duffy spoke to prisoner Brian Morrison - who later gave evidence at the trial - while in jail.
The court heard Duffy told Mr Morrison he killed Ms Baillie after "an argument got violent" adding that he that "stabbed her and squeezed her neck in".
He told him the plan was to blame his brother.
He later claimed in his evidence that he did not strangle her.
Jurors were told that Duffy pretended to be Ms Baillie's stepdad on 3 March to claim £198 of benefits on her behalf, most of which was immediately withdrawn.
He also stated that a confrontation between him and his brother developed which turned violent.
Duffy claimed he stabbed his brother in self-defence on the shoulder to ward him off and then on the torso to make good his escape.
He then struck him on the head with an axe after checking his pulse.
He was remanded in custody until sentencing can take place at the High Court in Edinburgh next month.