Man guilty of army veteran hammer attack murder

A man who bludgeoned an army veteran to death with a hammer has been found guilty of murder.

Paul Taylor, 56, from Annan, Dumfriesshire, went missing last October and his remains were found in a shallow grave in woodland near Carlisle, Cumbria, in May.

Jack Crawley, 20, of Carlisle, also tried to burn his victim's body, a trial at the city's crown court heard.

He will be sentenced on Wednesday.

Crawley was also found guilty of the attempted murder of a man in York in January, who he met on the gay dating app Grindr and also attacked with a hammer.

He was on bail for the killing of Mr Taylor at the time.

Meanwhile, a second man on trial, Marcus Goodfellow, 20, also of Carlisle, was found not guilty of assisting an offender by helping to dispose of Mr Taylor’s vehicle.

Crawley had been in touch with Mr Taylor for some time before the killing and they had previously met to have sex, the court heard.

Mr Taylor lived in Annan with his wife Maria.

The court heard his family was unaware of his sexual interest in men.

Crawley bludgeoned Mr Taylor in the head at least 10 times.

He then attempted to burn his victim's body before burying him at Finlandrigg Woods near Carlisle.

Crawley was arrested in Bristol on 2 February.

During his police interview in relation to the incident in York, he claimed he was acting in self-defence when he hit the man with a hammer.

Crawley led police to Mr Taylor's skeletal remains on 1 May, 195 days after he was reported missing by his wife.

Crawley, of no fixed address, had admitted manslaughter, but denied murder throughout the trial, which began on 1 October.

Det Supt Ian Hussey of Cumbria Police said he did not believe there were further victims, but the force was investigating and could not be "complacent".

In a statement issued after the verdict, Mr Taylor's family said their lives had been "completely torn apart".

"Losing Paul in these circumstances and the torment and hurt this has caused has been horrendous and indescribable," they said.

Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]