Man stole ex’s jewellery and shot pair from window

Perth Sheriff Court heard Darren Kilbryde stole from Miss Mowat and shot two people from her window. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Corinne Mowat fell for Darren Kilbryde after meeting him through an online dating agency - but his profile failed to mention he was a thief with a love for guns.

Today, Perth Sheriff Court was told that Kilbryde stole two pendants worth hundreds of pounds from Miss Mowat’s flat after she broke up with him.

She had dumped Kilbryde after he shot two random passers-by from her window and then sought her help in hiding his weapons from the police.

Miss Mowat, from Perth, then allowed him to return to her flat to collect his belongings while she was out - and that is when he stole her jewellery.

Kilbryde, 36, Pilrig Street, Edinburgh, admitted stealing two pendants from the flat occupied by Miss Mowat in Perth on 27 August last year.

Fiscal depute Jim Eodanable said: “The complainer and the accused were involved in a relationship for seven months and it came to an end on 27 August 2013.

“This was the day on which he arranged to collect the last of his belongings from her flat. She came home at the end of the day and surmised he had been there because a bag with his belongings had gone.

“She became aware the pendants were not where they would normally be. The police became involved and searched the accused’s property and recovered two pendants.”

The court was told the pendants were worth around £400 and had now been returned to Miss Mowat.

Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said: “There had been a falling out. This was at the end of their relationship.” Kilbryde, who is serving 14 months for the shootings, was fined £150.

Kilbryde was jailed in October after ballistics experts studied CCTV and ruled that the only place the shots could have been fired from were the window of his Miss Mowat’s flat.

Victim Sandy Lumsden, 44, was left with an air gun pellet lodged in his abdomen for a year and needed to undergo surgery twice to have it removed after being shot at random on his way home.

Barman Peter Ross, 23, was also injured after being shot on his way home from work in the early hours by gun-obsessed bird killer Kilbryde, who was found with a stash of combat gear.

Kilbryde admitted shooting and injuring Mr Lumsden, from Perth, in the city centre on 5 May last year. He also admitted shooting Mr Ross on the body and injuring him during the incidents which took place just 12 minutes apart.

Mr Holmes said Kilbryde was drunk and added: “This doesn’t appear to have any proper explanation. At the time it was seen to be a fun thing to do without thinking of the consequences.”

Miss Mowat and Kilbryde had been out drinking and had returned to the flat where she went to bed, assuming Kilbryde was lying beside her. Instead, he got up and took potshots at passing strangers.

Kilbryde was later seen wrapping items in bubble wrap and driving up the A9 the following day in what police believe was an attempt to hide the weapons and ammunition for a period.

They were later discovered in a shared loft space after detectives began quizzing his ex-girlfriends and family in Edinburgh about his obsession with firearms. Officers also discovered an invoice for a BB gun with Kilbryde’s name on it.

The court was also told that Kilbryde had his air gun and ammunition confiscated by a court in 2011 after he was convicted of shooting and killing a wild bird.