Bloodlust of teenagers who murdered twice... then had a designer shopping spree
A PAIR of teenage thugs murdered two men in separate attacks during a violent crime spree.
Andrew Moran and Paul Erskine left Harry Reekie drenched in blood after he was stabbed, bound and robbed in his own home.
The 19-year- old pair then went on a designer clothes shopping spree after stealing cash from Mr Reekie, who died later of his injuries.
Within 36 hours, they then murdered Steven Mitchell, 31, who was knifed to death at a house just yards from Mr Reekie’s home.
But the pair were caught for the killing of Mr Mitchell after footprints from their new trainers were left at the scene. Prosecutors said both victims were exposed to ‘needless and grotesque’ violence.
Yesterday, Moran was convicted of both murders following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Erskine was found guilty of murdering Mr Mitchell and the culpable homicide of Mr Reekie.
Both face life in jail when they are sentenced next month.
The jury heard how Moran and Erskine had targeted 65-year- old Mr Reekie’s home in Bathgate, West Lothian, around 3am last September 16.
The pensioner had moved to Scotland to help care for his terminally-ill brother and had himself battled cancer.
He woke up in the early hours to discover the hooded duo in his living room after they had clambered in through the window.
The court heard the OAP was then put through an ‘unimaginable’ ordeal as Moran ordered him to ‘sit there and shut up’ before demanding £20,000.
The victim was stabbed as Moran ordered Erskine to hunt for cash. He then bound the pensioner’s mouth and wrists with tape. As Mr Reekie sat bleeding in his own chair, Erskine continued to rifle through the house looking for cash.
Mr Reekie tried to offer the keys to his car to end his ordeal – but was simply knifed again by Moran. Even as Mr Reekie tried to get help, Moran again slashed him across the legs.
The pair eventually fled with £400 and a number of mobile phones. Neighbour George Campbell found Mr Reekie ‘saturated in blood’ with black-and-yellow tape tight around his neck.
Mr Campbell had gone downstairs after hearing the pensioner’s cries for help.
He told the court: ‘ He was sitting... but holding himself and his neck.
‘I was shocked when he said he was stabbed. He was very weak and would have collapsed because he had lost so much blood.’
A frail Mr Reekie was later able to identify his attackers when questioned by police in hospital, telling them: ‘He was getting his fun out of stabbing me. I did not feel pain – only terror.’
The pensioner never recovered and died on January 4 this year.
In the hours after the attack, the killers used their loot to buy expensive clothes at the Nautica menswear store in Bathgate.
Steven Mitchell was their next victim in the early hours of September 17. The court heard how Mr Mitchell had previously told another man how Moran was ‘always trying to hit him’ and was ‘bullying him’.
Mr Mitchell was savagely setupon at the house where he was staying in Bathgate and suffered more than a dozen stab wounds including one to the heart. He was also battered with a hammer.
Moran and Erskine were seen walking from the area around 2am. After what prosecutors described as a ‘ghoulish 36 hours’, the pair enjoyed a McDonalds meal together – as Mr Mitchell’s sister discovered her brother’s mutilated body.
Detective Superintendent Kenny Graham said: ‘Paul Erskine and Andrew Moran are vicious killers whose callous actions have cost the lives of two innocent victims.’
Judge Lord Kinclaven remanded both in custody for sentencing on October 9.