Man killed woman over loose coins

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A man has been found guilty of killing his former lover and stealing £500 in loose change from her to pay off debts.

Paolo Parracho, 39, smashed Tracey Scott's head with such force that a piece of dislodged skull was found beside the body.

He attacked her at her home in Paisley on 23 April last year.

He was later captured on CCTV feeding stolen coins into a cash changing machine at a local supermarket. Sentence was deferred for reports.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that Parracho was caught because he left behind DNA evidence on a coffee cup from which he drank and in a plastic bag containing a blood-soaked cushion which the Crown believes was used to stifle her cries for help.

After killing Ms Scott, the building site labourer, who is Portuguese but has lived in Scotland for 11 years, took £483.90 in coins from tins in her home.

The court heard that the victim had been saving up money she received in tips from her kitchen porter job at Glasgow airport.

Severe force was required to inflict her injuries. These injuries would result in death very quickly Lind Iles Pathologist Parracho was captured on CCTV, at Asda in Linwood later that night, changing the coins for notes.

The following day he paid a work colleague £300 of the £400 he owed him.

Prosecutor Iain McSporran told the court that Tracey's body lay undiscovered for three days after the murder until family and friends, worried that they had not seen or heard from her, went to investigate.

The court was told the 41-year-old suffered 25 separate injuries, five of them major.

Pathologist Linda Iles said: "Severe force was required to inflict her injuries. These injuries would result in death very quickly."

Life sentence

The jury was also told that Miss Scott had defensive injuries to her hands caused by her trying to ward off blows.

Parracho, who was represented by defence QC Donald Findlay, denied the murder and theft but the jury convicted him unanimously.

Judge Lord Matthews told Parracho: "There is only one sentence I can pass - life imprisonment.

"However, I have to consider the period you must serve before you are eligible for parole."

Sentence was deferred until next month for background reports.