Life sentence for murderer who hid landlord’s body under sofa for a year

A KILLER convicted of murdering his former landlord and then hiding his corpse has been jailed for life.

Robert Henderson attacked Hugh Boyd, 57, at the victim’s flat in Yorkhill, Glasgow, in October 2009.

The 27-year-old hid the trussed-up body under a couch and a table before going on a spending spree using Mr Boyd’s bank card and post office account.

The dead man was only discovered a year later when a housing association worker made a routine call to his flat.

Henderson yesterday returned to the High Court in Glasgow after earlier being convicted of murder.

Lord Matthews ordered he serve a minimum 14 years behind bars before he can apply for parole.

Ex-decorator Henderson showed no emotion as he was led handcuffed to the cells.

The jury earlier heard how Henderson had been a lodger at Mr Boyd’s flat in the city’s Old Dumbarton Road.

A neighbour recalled how in October 2009, she heard unusual banging coming from the property. Carol Ann Akceviz said: “It was as if the house was getting wrecked. I heard Mr Boyd shouting: ‘Help, help’.

“Then it was fading as if someone was trying to stop him shouting help. I opened my front door and could hear a sound like dishes or broken glasses.

“I had not heard anything like that from the house before.”

The badly decomposed body of Mr Boyd – who was estranged from his family – was not discovered until 1 October last year when housing association staff asked for his door to be broken down.

Pathologist Dr Julie McAdam – who was called to the scene – said: “My initial observation was that it was extremely odd to have a body with a sofa on top.

“The body had a duvet around it and it was partly secured by cable ties around the head. There was also some kind of fabric belt tied around the ankles.”

Dr McAdam said possible causes of death could be suffocation or strangulation, but there were no signs due to the decaying corpse. Henderson, of Dalmuir, West Dunbartonshire, was later quizzed by police and claimed he was “devastated” by Mr Boyd’s death.

He said Mr Boyd – who he knew as Shug – was “an uncle-type figure”.

Henderson added: “I considered Shug to be my closest friend.

“The news has really surprised me.”

He also claimed the last time he had seen Mr Boyd was July 2009. Police discovered that regular withdrawals had been made from Mr Boyd’s post office account after he died.

One of these took place at a post office close to Henderson’s home. A top-up for a mobile phone purchased a minute later was traced to the killer.

The dead man’s bank card was also used in various shops across Glasgow. Henderson was further snared when his DNA was found at the murder scene.

He had also once written love letters to homosexual Mr Boyd despite claiming to be straight.

Henderson was also convicted of theft, fraud and two charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice after the trial last month. His QC Gordon Jackson yesterday said this was a case that was “shrouded in mystery”.