This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6608875.stm

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Man convicted of hammer killings Man convicted of hammer killings
(40 minutes later)
A man has been found guilty of murdering a woman with a claw hammer and the culpable homicide of her nephew at a flat in Glasgow.A man has been found guilty of murdering a woman with a claw hammer and the culpable homicide of her nephew at a flat in Glasgow.
Gerald McLeish, 21, killed Bernadette Johnstone, 39, and her 25-year-old nephew John Park.Gerald McLeish, 21, killed Bernadette Johnstone, 39, and her 25-year-old nephew John Park.
McLeish had told his trial he had acted in self-defence and was fighting for his life during the incident.McLeish had told his trial he had acted in self-defence and was fighting for his life during the incident.
He was found not guilty of raping Mrs Johnstone by a jury at the High Court in Glasgow. Sentencing was deferred.He was found not guilty of raping Mrs Johnstone by a jury at the High Court in Glasgow. Sentencing was deferred.
The court had been told Mrs Johnstone and Mr Park had suffered horrific injuries to their faces, skulls and bodies after being repeatedly hit with a hammer. The court had been told Mrs Johnstone and Mr Park suffered horrific injuries to their faces, skulls and bodies after being repeatedly hit with a hammer.
Blood splattered Majority verdicts
The offences were committed in Mr Park's 15th floor flat in Longstone Place, Cranhill, Glasgow, on 30 or 31 August last year. McLeish had apparently used the claw end of the hammer to tear Mr Park's face apart before bludgeoning mother-of-two Mrs Johnstone with the same weapon.
The court heard evidence that Mr McLeish phoned police to ask them to let him out of Mr Park's flat, claiming he had been locked in alone. McLeish, of Lamlash Crescent, Cranhill, was found guilty of both killings by majority verdicts.
When a joiner opened the door while accompanied by two policemen, Mr McLeish ran away and was arrested after a chase. He had lodged special defences of self-defence to the two murder charges and of consent to the rape allegation.
Mrs Johnstone's body was found concealed under a settee in the blood splattered flat, and police forensic experts were unaware for over two-and-a-half hours that Mr Park's body was only two feet away from his aunt's until they lifted up a bed and found him underneath. The killings took place in Mr Park's flat at Longstone Place, Cranhill, on 30 or 31 August last year, after he invited McLeish, a relative stranger, up to his newly decorated flat for a house-warming drink.
He introduced McLeish to Mrs Johnstone, of Fastnet Street, also Cranhill, and the three of them settled down for a drink.
The bodies of Mrs Johnstone and Mr Park were found close together
In evidence McLeish claimed that while Mr Park was in the kitchen, Mrs Johnstone took him into the bedroom where they had sex.
McLeish said that when Mr Park discovered what he had been doing he erupted in fury and hit him with a hammer.
In the struggle which ensued McLeish claimed he fought for his life, disarming Mr Park and using the hammer to ward him and Mrs Johnstone off.
But the prosecution's case was that Mr Park was bludgeoned to death at his front door as he tried to escape.
The prosecution claimed that after killing Mr Park, McLeish then used the hammer on Mrs Johnstone.
The court heard evidence that McLeish later phoned police to ask them to let him out of Mr Park's flat, claiming he had been locked in alone.
When a joiner opened the door while accompanied by two policemen, McLeish ran away. He was arrested after a chase.
'Loving mother'
Mrs Johnstone's body was found concealed under a settee in the blood-splattered flat.
Police forensic experts were unaware for more then two-and-a-half hours that Mr Park's body was only two feet away. It was discovered when they lifted up a bed and found him underneath.
Speaking outside the court, Mr Park's sister, Margaret Park, 30, said she was devastated that McLeish had been cleared of murdering her brother and raping her aunt, who she had described in evidence as a "happy, loving mother".
She added: "We have now got to tell two boys what happened to their mother. They are only 13 and 14 but we have to tell them."
Her father, John Park snr, slammed McLeish for assassinating the characters of his son and Bernadette.
"He is nothing but scum and a beast," he said. "The jury saw the pictures of the bodies. They were butchered."
The judge, Lord Hardie, called for reports on McLeish before sentencing him later this month.