Vampire sword killer to appeal life sentence
Sci-fi fan wants verdict overturned
A ONE-EYED sci-fi fanatic who stabbed a gangster to death with a “vampire” sword is appealing against his murder conviction. Adrian Hynd, 52, was given a life sentence last month and ordered to serve at least 18 years for the brutal slaying of gangland enforcer Alex Forbes. Hynd plunged an 18-inch ornamental blade into Forbes, 25, hours after meeting him for the first time in a pub. Now the dad of two – who claimed he acted in self-defence – is making a bid for freedom after his lawyers lodged an appeal.
Hynd is also appealing against the length of his sentence.
Forbes was found lying in the living room of Hynd’s flat in Kirkcaldy in January with the sword still sticking out of his mutilated body.
The trial at the High Court in Edinburgh heard Hynd’s flat was decorated with Star Trek memorabilia and an axe from Lord of the Rings.
Hynd claimed Forbes had seized a sword with a vampire design in its hilt from a display stand and attacked him, before he wrestled it from him and killed him. A pathologist found more than 100 injuries on Forbes’s body – 10 of them stab wounds.
Sentencing Hynd at the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Ericht said: “The jury rejected self-defence. You committed a brutal, bloody murder.”
An appeal court spokesman said: “Adrian Hynd has lodged an appeal against conviction and sentence.”