Police ScotlandA man murdered his friend at his home and left him for days in a pool of blood.
Christopher Howe, 38, assaulted Paul Berry at his home in Glasgow’s Castlemilk on November 18, 2022.
Howe repeatedly punched and kicked Mr Berry during an “altercation” between the pair.
Howe went on to take a picture of his stricken victim and sent it to his father.
He also texted his partner and said: “I have murdered someone.”
Mr Berry’s body wasn’t discovered until the morning of November 21 by a friend.
Howe was found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow of murdering Mr Berry.
There were claps and shouts of “Yes” from the public gallery after Howe was convicted.
Jurors earlier heard in agreed evidence that the two men were “involved in an altercation and as a result Mr Berry died.”
Their friend stated that he found Mr Berry’s body on a Monday morning visit.
He stated Mr Berry’s face looked “blackish” and checked for his pulse.
He told the court that he then informed friend and neighbour who “looked at his face through the door of the living room and said he was dead.”
A 999 call was made and medics pronounced Mr Berry’s life extinct shortly after.
Prosecutor Lynsey Rodger asked Mr Berry about a note he wrote dated from a previous Friday.
It read: “Chris was in Paul’s house.”
There was also reference in the note to “causing a nuisance.”
Howe’s partner told the court that she spoke to him while he was “incohesive” in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Ms Rodger asked if Howe mentioned anything about blood and she replied: “There was blood on his shoes.
“He said he had done something wrong, he just wanted to see me.”
The witness claimed that she later received a text message saying: “I have murdered someone” which she said she ignored.
Howe’s father stated that he spoke to him on the Sunday when he was told his son did a “bad thing.”
Ms Rodger asked: “Did he say what the bad thing was?”
Mr Alexander replied: “He said that he thought that the man was dead.”
The witness claimed that Howe then sent him pictures which he deleted.
It was agreed in evidence that the images were of Mr Berry “lying in a pool of blood.”
Howe’s shoes were later recovered on a green wheelie bin by police.
Mr Howe was found to have suffered a fracture to his skull.
His cause of death after a post-mortem was carried out on him was “head injuries.”
Jurors also watched CCTV of Howe entering and leaving Mr Berry’s flat on a number of occasions on the night of the murder.
It was revealed that Howe has previous convictions for assault, disorder and possession of an offensive weapon as well as various breaches of court orders.
Sentence was deferred pending background reports until next month before Judge Lord Colbeck. He told Howe that he faces a life sentence.
Howe, also of Castlemilk, had his remand in custody continued meantime.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
