Man found guilty of murdering Claire Inglis in her Stirling home
- Published
Christopher McGowan was found guilty by a jury at the High Court in Stirling
A man has been found guilty of murdering his new girlfriend weeks after being bailed to her Stirling home.
Christopher McGowan, 28, battered and strangled Claire Inglis, before burning her with a lighter and pushing a wet wipe down her throat.
A jury took just over two hours to convict McGowan, who was on five bail orders at the time of the murder.
Judge Michael O'Grady described it as a "crime of utter wickedness".
He said McGowan's attack on Ms Inglis was "brutal and bestial" and he thanked her family for their dignity in court.
They had watched every day of the trial from the public gallery at the High Court in Stirling.
After the verdict, the court was told that McGowan had 40 previous convictions, including three for assault.
He has also served an 18-month jail term for assault and robbery.
Ms Inglis' parents want to know why he was released from prison to live at their daughter's home weeks before her death.
"He should never ever have been put in her flat with my grandson and Claire," her father Ian told BBC Scotland News. "Not with the criminal record he had - it should never have been allowed."
Claire Inglis suffered 76 injuries in the fatal attack
The judge told McGowan that people who work in court regularly have to listen to accounts of the "dreadful things human beings do, one to another".
"And perhaps over time - regrettably but inevitably - such things can lose a measure of their impact," he added.
"But some crimes still have the power to profoundly shock, and surely your brutal and bestial killing of Claire Inglis is one such crime.
"It is a crime of staggering cruelty and depravity. It is a crime of utter wickedness."
He added: "You have without rhyme, reason or pity taken the life of a young woman - daughter and a mother - who, as your partner should have been confident of looking to you for affection and protection.
"Instead you brought to her a terrible destruction and to her family a lifetime of anguish."
McGowan initially claimed he had been acting in self-defence but that claim was subsequently withdrawn during the trial.
His account of events ranged from claiming Ms Inglis had fallen down the stairs of her flat, to saying she had overdosed on Valium and he had tried to save her life.
The trial heard that Ms Inglis, a 28-year-old mother-of-one, sustained 76 injuries during McGowan's attack.
Pathologist Dr Kerryanne Shearer said these included a number of blunt force impacts to the head and face, and extensive bruising to almost her entire skull.
Ms Inglis had sustained a subdural hematoma and a fractured hyoid bone, a horseshoe-shaped bone in the middle of the neck.
Claire Inglis was murdered in her home on 28 November, 2021
The jury was told of chaotic scenes both outside and inside Ms Inglis' St Ninians' flat in the aftermath of the attack in the early hours of 28 November, 2021.
A paramedic arriving at the scene saw McGowan being beaten by two men, shouting "murder" and "he's killed her."
A bloodied McGowan had followed the paramedics into Ms Inglis' flat, where two neighbours were desperately performing CPR on the young mother.
One of those neighbours, William Stone, 52, said: "She had the makings of a black eye, her whole face was swollen.
"I could hear Claire gurgling, but there was no response."
'Horrendous crime'
Mr Stone said McGowan was behind the paramedics in the hall saying Ms Inglis had fallen down the stairs and she had taken 50 Valium and half a gram of cocaine.
"He (McGowan) never even came into the room and asked how she was doing," Mr Stone added.
A taxi driver told the trial that he had picked up McGowan and Miss Inglis the previous evening in Stirling city centre.
David Addison, 35, was asked how McGowan had spoken to Ms Inglis, 28, and he replied: "It was horrible, not nice, the tone of his language. It was very demanding."
Mr Addison said in his police statement that after Ms Inglis left the taxi, McGowan said under his breath: "I'll kill you."
Police Scotland said McGowan would now have to face the consequences of his actions.
Det Insp Will Harley, of Forth Valley CID, said: "This was a horrendous crime, which involved significant levels of violence.
"Christopher McGowan cruelly took Claire's life, showing complete disregard for her and her family."
McGowan will be sentenced on 25 October at the High Court in Edinburgh.