Man 'confessed to murdering friend during drunken row with wife'

• The High Court in Glasgow heard how Mr Pryde confessed to the killing during a holiday in Greece in 2006

Thomas Pryde, 38, attacked lorry driver Adam Alexander during a fight at the victim's home in Errol, Perthshire, more than 10 years ago.

The father-of-one then buried his friend's body in nearby land. He pleaded guilty to culpable homicide at the High Court in Glasgow today.

Prosecutors said the wife of the drainage contractor went to police after his confession during a break on the Greek island of Zante.

Pryde later admitted the crime to police, telling officers: "I just completely lost the plot", the court heard.

Defence counsel Ian Duguid QC said the fight broke out when Mr Alexander threatened Pryde's family.

He had gone to Atholl Cottage on November 14, 1999, to pay him for a motorcycle he had agreed to buy from him.

They ended up assaulting each other in a disagreement over the disposal of some computer equipment.

Despite showing police where he says he buried Mr Alexander, the 38-year-old's body has never been found.

Judge Lord Bracadale said: "You have pled guilty to a most serious and disturbing crime of killing Mr Alexander and disposing of his body.

"That happened 10 years ago and his body has never been recovered."

Alex Prentice QC, prosecuting, said of the May 2006 confession: "The accused was abroad on holiday with his wife.

"One evening near the end of the holiday the accused became extremely drunk and confessed that he had killed Adam Alexander some years previously.

"It was not until January 2007 that she reported this fact to the police and a murder investigation was set in motion."

Mr Prentice later added: "He was drunk and, during an argument, the accused said to his wife that he had done a terrible thing and that he had done it for her and their son."

Pryde, who is now separated from his wife, was said to have been aware that she was going to the police.

He initially denied the killing but then admitted the crime during a police interview in September 2007.

The court heard how inquiries revealed he had told friends back in 2003 and 2004 that he had killed Mr Alexander, saying he had "done Adam" and "it was a case of me or him".

Pryde, from Scone, Perthshire, was already serving a five-year jail sentence for firing shots at a businessman's home in a dispute over money in 2004.

Mr Alexander was last seen on the High Street near his cottage at around 4pm on the day he was killed.

He was reported missing by a friend who went to his home four days later and found no sign of the long-distance lorry driver.

Pryde told police he "maybe over-reacted" in the dispute and the pair rolled about fighting.

Reading from an interview transcript , Mr Prentice said: "He was a lot stronger than me. It felt like it wasn't going to end.

"I cannae mind, a bar or something, was on the ground and I hit him with it".

The transcript went on: "I took him along by the brickworks and buried him. It's never been out of my mind."

Mr Duguid said Pryde's panicked actions had been with him for a decade.

He said: "He was taken aback by Mr Alexander's threats to the well-being of Mr Pryde's family if he didn't assist him in disposing of the stolen property.

"It has left him with a terrible legacy that he has been carrying for over a decade."

Mr Alexander's mother had been devastated by the loss of her son and denied a proper burial site to visit, the court heard.

Speaking afterwards, Detective Chief Superintendent Roddy Ross, of Tayside Police, said: "This has been a very distressing period for her.

"Today's conviction is another step along the road for her in her search for Adam and for justice for Adam."

Pryde will be sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on April 22.