Killer walked into police station and admitted to 1980 cold case murder

05.11.2022 - 16:11 / dailyrecord.co.uk

A stone cold killer has finally been brought to justice after he walked into a police station and made the shocking confession that he killed a man over 40 years ago. John Paul, 61 was given a 19-year prison sentence for the murder of Anthony Bird, who he killed in 1980, after his death remained a mystery for 41 years.

Anthony, who was known as Tony by his family, was discovered dead in June 1980 inside his Kensington Gardens Square home in West London after he had not shown up for his work, the Mirror reports. The man, who was 41-years-old when he died, was found with an electrical cable wrapped around his body covered in marks and bruises.

His flat had also been raided with various electrical items and alcohol that had been taken. A murder investigation was immediately launched but by 1981 all line of enquiries had been exhausted and no further progress had been made to identifying the killer.

Anthony's murder remained a cold case until John Paul walked into Hammersmith Police Station on May 5 2021 and confessed to killing the 41 year old over four decades ago. He was arrested on suspicion of murder and later charged. However, despite the 61 year old's earlier confession, he pleaded not guilty as he stood trial at the Old Bailey.

Last month, the jury convicted him of murder at the Old Bailey and he was sentenced at the same court on November 4 2022. The court heard that the men had met on the night of June 1980 and that he was invited back to Tony's home in Kensington with the intention of robbing him.

Once they got to the flat, Paul tied Tony up with cable and grabbed a piece of wood that he used to brutally beat him until with he was unconscious before he returned to his flat later that night to steal Tony's possessions.