Killer set his mum on fire after her will was changed in his favour
A man who killed his own mother by setting her on fire was made the sole beneficiary of her will just months before the murder.
Former of fshore worker William Kelly, 47, shouted “die, die” as Cathy Kelly was engulfed in flames.
Minutes earlier he had brutally assaulted the 71- year- old, punching and kicking her and leaving her lying on the floor of her home in Kilmarnock.
It has now emerged that in the run-up to the attack in 2017, Kelly had been granted control of his mother’s £70,000 life savings.
Mum- of-two Cathy, a former care assistant, signed a will only six months earlier where she bequeathed her entire estate to Kelly.
Her daughter, Catherine Cree, who was estranged from her mother in the months leading up to her death, was left nothing.
Kelly cannot now profit from his mum’s death as a result of his murder conviction but waited more than four years before giving up control of her estate.
Documents seen by the Sunday Mail show another relative was granted beneficiary of the will at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last year.
A source close to the family who did not want to be identifiedntified said: “It’s very suspiciouss timing to make sure everythinghingng is awarded to you u after that person n dies and then a mere e seven months later r they do.
“It makes you u wonder what the motive was in killing her and how long that idea had been in Kelly’s head.
“Thankfully he cannot nnot now benefit from his mothe r ’ s ha r d - earned money and i s behind bars where he belongs.”
A jury at the High Court in Glasgow took just 90 minutes to unanimous l y convict Kel ly for the killing. He was told he must spend 23 years behinddbbars bbefore f being considered for release.
Throughout the trial, Kelly denied deniedmurderin murdering his mother at ththe homeh ththey sharedhd on FFebruary b 11, 2017.
Kelly claimed she was set on f ire by a accident after petrol he had spilled on hhimself in the garage gar ignited as he llit a cigarette. But B the ju r y heard hea there was no trail tra of petrol from the garage into the living room and were told if the blaze had hhappenedappene a s Kel ly claimedclaimed, he would wo have been more badly injured.
When he was being treated for burns in Glasgow Royal
Infirmary, he told a nurse: “I did whathtIhIhaddtto ddo. I was provoked.kd She got what she deserved.”
Kelly’s former partner Eleanor Banks witnessed the murder and gave evidence for the prosecution. She told the court: “I couldn’t stop him.
“I screamed, ‘ You’re going to ki l l your mum,’ and he was saying, ‘Die.’ The liquid smelled like petrol. He set f ire to the bottom of her legs. She went up in the blink of an eye.”
At the time of her death, Catherine had an estate valued at £ 68,715. That included her £35,000 home in Kilmarnock and money held in savings accounts and a life assurance policy. She had appointed her son and ElEleanor as executorst off hher will ill to take care of her affairs in the event of her death.
However, they have both now resigned as executors of the will and the estate has been transferred to a granddaughter.
Eleanor said: “I tried to talk Cathy out of changing her will many times.
“I tried to get her to see her daughter, who didn’t deserve to be taken out of the will. She was her daughter and loved her.
“I tried many times to get her to see sense. But she was obviously brainwashed.”
Eleanor added: “There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t think about what happened. He is an evil,il evilil scumbag.b
“When I was told I was an executor, I didn’t even know what that was. All I knew was I didn’t want anything to do with the will or anything else.
“I was happy to resign as an executor and hand over al l the money to the other family member.”
Under Scots law a murderer cannot inherit from their victim’s estate. However, it is possible to remain an executor of a person’s will.
An executor can be removed in certain circumstances, which can delay the winding up of an estate.
There isn’t by a day goes think that I don’t about what d. He is happene an evil, evil scumbag