26 years’ jail for thug who killed woman in her home
A DRUG-CRAZED thug who murdered a woman and stabbed her partner after he burst into their home was jailed for 26 years yesterday. Paul McManus was armed with two knives when he forced his way into the house Norman Busby shared with Isabelle Sanders.
He stole car keys and £300 and, in an attack of ‘sheer brutality’, Mr Busby, 86, was stabbed several times in the chest before McManus, 20, stabbed Miss Sanders 37 times and inflicted 24 further injuries on her.
The serial offender, who had been released from prison only six weeks before t he murder, showed no emotion as he was jailed for the ‘serious and devastatingly tragic’ crimes.
But f urious relatives have begun a campaign for ‘life to mean life’, as McManus can apply for parole once the 26-year period has been served.
Mr Busby, a retired police sergeant, said: ‘If you kill someone, it should be a life for a life.’
Miss Sanders’ brother, James Dougall, called for serial offend- ers to be locked up until they die and said they plan to lobby MSPs to change the law.
He added: ‘ For violent reoffenders who disregard the opportunity given to them through early release who then commit a murder, the judiciary should be given the option to impose a whole of life sentence.’
Miss Sanders’s niece Ellen Andrew, 20, said McManus had never shown any remorse.
She added: ‘He has shown no interest in being rehabilitated, so what’s going to happen when he gets out – who’s going to be his next victim?’
At the High Court in Livingston, Lord Armstrong sentenced McManus for the murder of churchgoer Miss Sanders, 51, and attempting to murder her partner in Crookston, Glasgow, on April 9 last year.
McManus, from Govan, Glasgow, was said to have never attended school, to have lived a chaotic l i festyle plagued by drink and drugs and to have chosen his victims because they were elderly and defenceless.
Lord Armstrong told him the couple had been living their lives as normal, not knowing that minutes later, following a knock at their door in the middle of the night, tragedy would strike.
He said: ‘Randomly you went to their home armed with two knives, forced your way in and inflicted violence on them.’
The j udge highlighted the accused’s ‘significant’ record,
‘It should be a life for a life’
which included convictions for theft, assault and robbery and the use of weapons. He pointed out McManus had served seven sentences of detention and committed the murder weeks after his release from custody.
He told McManus: ‘Those who knew Isabelle Sanders and her relatives have been deeply affected by all this. No sentence would be regarded as sufficient in their eyes.’
McManus forced his way into the couple’s home at 1.50am and demanded car keys. But before Mr Busby could react, McManus stabbed him repeatedly, puncturing both lungs.
Bank worker Miss Sanders lay dying in a pool of blood while McManus held her badly injured partner at knifepoint while he searched for his car keys.
McManus then left, taking £300 cash and a laptop. He did not drive off in Mr Busby’s Nissan Almera but fled on foot.
Eight hours l ater, he was caught on CCTV while on a shopping spree with the cash.
McManus admitted being high on temazepam and drinking three bottles of Buckfast wine before the attack. Defence QC Gordon Jackson s ai d t he accused had a ‘tragic’ life story.
The judge imposed a life sentence with 21 years for the murder and a consecutive sentence of five years for the attempted murder and other offences.