Alyson Nelson: Murder victim stabbed seven times in a minute

Alyson Nelson, 64, was murdered in Whitehead in April 2022

A 64-year-old woman who was murdered by her ex-partner in Whitehead was stabbed seven times within the space of a minute, a court has heard.

Some details of Alyson Nelson's murder in April 2022 emerged for the first time at Belfast Crown Court on Friday.

William Finlay, 68, from Olde Forde Gardens, Whitehead, is charged with murder aggravated by domestic abuse.

He had previously denied the murder but changed his plea to guilty in November 2023 and is to be sentenced next week.

The court heard that the attack on Ms Nelson was motivated by jealousy and was branded as a "wicked act" by the barrister representing Finlay.

Ms Nelson was in a new relationship in April 2022.

Finlay's barrister said it was clear he was unable to accept the relationship had ended and that he was jealous of Ms Nelson's new relationship.

Finlay, who was previously in the Royal Navy, and Ms Nelson met online in December 2018 and later began a relationship, with Finlay moving into Ms Nelson's home in August 2019.

The relationship ended less than a year later - 18 months before Ms Nelson was murdered at her home in Victoria Avenue.

Evidence including the knife used in the attack, CCTV footage of both the victim and Finlay in a nearby pub on the day she was murdered and footage from a doorbell camera, were shown in court on Friday.

Footage from the doorbell camera showed Finlay arriving at Ms Nelson's County Antrim home with his hood up, wearing latex gloves and holding something. The time stamp on the footage was 18:03.

Around a minute later at 18:04, Finlay was captured leaving her home with his hood down, brandishing a knife and wiping it with a cloth as he walked out of the gate at the property.

Finlay was arrested later that day at his home.

'It's me you're looking for'

The prosecution told the court that when police arrived at his home, they saw a man in the hallway holding a bottle of cleaning fluid and Finlay said to the officers: "It's me you're looking for".

Inside the property, officers found a yellow fabric cloth with blood stains, two bags filled with dark clothing in the living room of his house that were blood stained and one blood stained latex glove.

Another blood stained glove was found outside the house.

The court heard that the knife used to stab Ms Nelson multiple times was taken from a knife block in Finlay's kitchen.

The prosecution read a statement from a woman working in a nearby chip shop who said she saw Ms Nelson leave her home, with her new partner, on the day she was murdered.

The woman said she saw Ms Nelson return later that evening on her own and that a while later, someone had arrived at her home with their hood up.

Shortly after, the woman said she heard a "massive scream that seemed to go on forever".

The statement from the woman said she saw someone leave the house with their hood down and she recognised the person to be William Finlay or 'Bill' as she called him, and he was carrying a knife that he then wiped with a rag.

She went to the house to check on Ms Nelson and called emergency services.

She also helped to administer CPR with the help of an operator until the police arrived.

The scene was described as "horrendous".

Referring to Finlay's written submission, his barrister told the court his client was accepting of his guilt and that he was remorseful.

However, the judge said that he did not see any sign of sorrow or remorse from Finlay at any stage of the case including from when he was arrested and interviewed by police, after he changed his plea to guilty and in his pre-sentencing report.

His barrister said it was "obvious pre-meditation was involved" and that what happened was "clearly a violent and senseless act, when Ms Nelson had only ever been friendly and affectionate" to Finlay.