Man accused of stabbing brother and partner to death in Coatbridge

John Paul Duffy and Emma Baillie were found dead in Coatbridge

A 47-year-old man will stand trial accused of murdering his partner and brother in Coatbridge.

Peter Duffy was charged with killing Emma Baillie, 26, and John Paul Duffy, 51, at separate addresses in the North Lanarkshire town.

Prosecutors claim he stabbed both of them repeatedly with a knife.

The accused also faces a separate charge of domestic abuse against Emma Baillie.

It is claimed that Peter Duffy killed Ms Baillie between 4 March and 12 April 2022 at a property on Calder Street, Coatbridge, by compressing her neck and stabbing her repeatedly on the body.

In a further charge he is accused of hitting Ms Baillie with a brush, of causing her to fall down stairs, controlling her money and deciding when she could see family and friends.

Prosecutors say those incidents occurred over an eight-month period between 1 September 2021 and 12 April 2022.

John Paul Duffy's body was found at High Coats Flats in Coatbridge

Peter Duffy was further accused of murdering his brother John Paul at his home in High Coats between 29 March and 10 April last year.

The 47-year-old appeared in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday to hear the charges against him.

The indictment claims he also attempted to defeat the ends of justice following the alleged murders by pretending to be his brother to a child and a police officer during phone calls.

He faces a number of other theft and fraud charges after allegedly using bank and debit cards owned by the deceased.

One accusation claims he used a debit card belonging to Ms Baillie to buy £1 of "goods" at a sweet shop in Coatbridge on 4 April 2022.

A trial date was set for 29 January in Glasgow and is expected to last 15 days.