Suspect was accused of stabbing mum Jenniffer, 33, in her garden
A MAN charged with stabbing a mum to death in the garden of her home has died while in custody.
Hugh “Shuggy” Baird was found dead in a cell at Barlinnie prison on Monday – a week before he was scheduled to stand trial for murder.
Baird, 40, had been on remand there for the murder of his former partner Jenniffer Morgan in Waterside, Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow, in April this year.
The mum of one was found dead by her 11-year-old daughter Aime when she came home from school to Alexander Place.
The schoolgirl was hysterical as she ran from the scene, which was described as a bloodbath, after making the grim discovery.
She was comforted by neighbours who found her sitting on a kerb nearby screaming: “My mum’s dead.”
Jenniffer, 33, had tried to escape from the house following the attack but only made it to the garden before collapsing.
Mum and daughter had only moved in to the ground floor cottage-type flat three weeks earlier to start a new life.
Jenniffer’s sister Laura Evans convinced her sibling to move to Kirkintilloch and she moved in with her for several months before getting her own place.
Speaking after her death, she said: “I told her it was a lovely place with nice BY MICHAEL PRINGLE areas. Jenniffer just wanted a new life with my niece. I told her Kirky’s safe – you should move here.”
It was alleged Baird had sat outside the house in a car with another male waiting for Jenniffer to return home, and when she did he began shouting at her before following her and stabbing her with a knife. Laura revealed Jenniffer had frantically tried to call the police at 3pm that day after discovering Baird outside her home, about 40 minutes before Aime found her.
The police then contacted Jenniffer’s mum who alerted Laura and she rushed round to her sister’s house. Laura said: “I couldn’t get Jenniffer or my niece. They weren’t answering their phones.
“Then I got a call from my niece’s dad’s girlfriend. She was crying down the phone.
“She said Jenniffer had been killed and, at that point, I just lost it.”
The Crown Office said: “The procurator fiscal has received a report in connection with the death of a 40-year-old man in Glasgow on October 8, 2018. The investigation into the death is ongoing and the family will be kept updated.”
Confirmation of the death in custody was also published on the Scottish Prison Service website. Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas has pleaded for the return of his trophy after it was stolen from a cycling show in Birmingham.