Killer stabbed victim 19 times ´in a frenzy´

A ´PARANOID´ killer, who stabbed and beat a Bangor guesthouse owner to death ´in a frenzied attack´ while high on a cocktail of drink and drugs, has been jailed for life.

James William McCoy (21), who was 19 when he murdered William Spence at the Tara Guesthouse, will serve 12 and a half years before he is even considered for parole.

McCoy, whose address was given in court as the Simon Community Hostel, Central Avenue, Bangor, was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court last Friday.

Speaking after the hearing, the victim´s sister said she had been left ´numb´ by her brother´s murder 20 months ago and the subsequent legal proceedings.

McCoy had pleaded guilty in January to murdering Mr Spence, who was aged 68, between June 30 and July 1, 2008.

He had also admitted the aggravated burglary of the Princetown Road guesthouse on the night of the killing and burgling it two weeks beforehand.

The court heard how Mr Spence´s body was discovered at 7.30am on the morning of Tuesday, July 1, 2008, by a female member of staff arriving for work.

Crown counsel Liam McCollum QC said the lifeless victim was lying fully clothed on his back in a laundry room and was ´covered in blood´.
It was later established that Mr Spence had died from ´multiple stab wounds´ and ´violent blows´ to the head. A blood covered knife was found at the scene.

Police who went to the murder scene, Mr McCollum added, found bloodstained footprints on the floor around the body and in an adjoining shower room.

They also discovered, counsel continued, that a bedroom had been ransacked with drawers pulled out and items left strewn across the bed.
Mr McCollum said CCTV footage at the scene showed a knife wielding, bare chested man, in the premises at 11.45pm.