Man who murdered flatmate sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment

Mr Stevenson murdered Miss Rourke after she refused to have sex with him. He struck her then retrieved a knife from the kitchen and killed her.

On sentencing, Lady Rae said in court: “Although you have admitted your crime from the outset and you have pleaded guilty at an early stage thus avoiding a trial, it is the view of the social worker who carried out the criminal justice social work report for this court that you do not truly accept responsibility, in the sense that you blame your alcohol intake and the fact that the deceased rejected you.

“Neither of these reasons is an excuse for, nor are those reasons mitigatory of your actions. I note too with some concern that the social worker detected no victim empathy or remorse on your part.”

On the question of whether there was a significant sexual element to the case, which would “necessitate” Mr Stevenson being placed on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period, Lady Rae said: “After hearing submissions and having regard to the circumstances of this tragic event, all as set out in the agreed narrative, I am satisfied that there was indeed a significant sexual element in this crime.

“You killed Miss Rourke because she rejected your sexual advances and because she refused to engage in sexual intercourse. You were simply, on this occasion, not prepared to take ‘no’ for an answer and you deliberately killed her. On the facts of this case there was indeed a very significant sexual aspect to this particular crime.”

The judge explained how the accused had told police that, had he not killed Miss Rourke, he would have killed someone else.

“That was a spontaneous comment. I accept of course that that comment does not imply you would necessarily have attacked another woman but it does show, in the cool light of day, that you were prepared to react violently to rejection,” Lady Rae said.

She discounted the punishment part of the sentence by three years given the timing of the accused’s guilty plea.

The judge added: “On the murder charge you will be sentenced to life imprisonment and the punishment part, but for the discount, would have been 20 years. I shall discount that by three years thus the punishment part will be 17 years, backdated to 2 January 2016 when you were first remanded in custody.

“Having taken the view that there was a significant sexual element, you will be served with a notice by the clerk, advising you of the notification requirements for an indefinite period under the Sexual Offences legislation.”