Man admits brutal murder of partner and cover-up bid

A man has admitted to the brutal murder of his partner and the attempted cover-up of her death at her home in South Lanarkshire.

The body of Phoenix Spencer-Horn, 21, was discovered at the property on Glen Lee in East Kilbride on November 18 2024.

Prosecutors said Ewan Methven, 27, attacked Ms Spencer-Horn by repeatedly striking her on the head and body with a knife or knives.

Methven's KC Tony Graham entered guilty pleas to charges of murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice at the High Court in Glasgow.

WARNING: This article contains distressing details.

Prosecutors told the court Methven choked Ms Spencer-Horn, before severing her head and trying to remove her limbs and torso from her body.

Earlier that day, Methven, who worked as a postman, had complained to his girlfriend that her waitress shifts made him "lonely".

She had exchanged messages with her mother, Alison Spencer, at 21:37 saying they were eating dinner.

The couple had been together for two years and met at a family party, the court was told.

Around midnight, a downstairs neighbour heard "loud noise and hurried footsteps" which coincided with increased activity recorded on a phone app measuring Methven's steps.

He had attacked Ms Spencer-Horn with three knives, stabbing her 20 times. The fatal stab wound was to the chest. There were others in that area as well as to the face and buttocks.

Methven tried to cover up the killing for two days.

He spent the weekend driving Ms Spencer-Horn's red Corsa, scrolling through her phone and searching 170 times for internet pornography, as well as making several attempts to buy cocaine, according to prosecutors.

He also repeatedly pretended in texts to his victim's mother that her daughter was "alive and well".

Prosecutor Christopher McKenna said: "The accused murdered his girlfriend, Phoenix Spencer-Horn, in the top-floor flat they shared.

"Late on Saturday November 16, he strangled her and stabbed her. He dialled 999 but not until November 18.

"Her mutilated and decapitated body was discovered only on November 18."

The court heard that Ms Spencer-Horn had seen her mother the day before she was killed and had been in good spirits at work the day she was murdered.

In a 999 call, Methven claimed that the murder happened during a psychotic episode induced by cocaine, alcohol and steroids - which he claimed he thought had been spiked.

He told the operator he had been "trying to muster up the courage to phone" and that he had "totally blacked out through the thing".

The court heard a delivery driver reported Methven "did not appear to be drunk or under the influence" at 20:00 on the night of the murder.

Police arrived at the flat and found Ms Spencer-Horn's body covered up in the hallway next to two blood-stained knives. Another bloodied knife was found in the bathroom.

Methven was described as "calm".

Upon his arrest, he told officers: "I could not stay here with her like that. I tried to dismember her. I moved her from the bath and put her there."

After he was put in a police cell, he said: "I guess this is what my next 25 years look like."

His KC Tony Graham said Phoenix's family and friends were likely to regard Methven as the "personification of evil".

The lawyer said: "He recognises the relatives and friends will never be able to forgive him. He will not be able to forgive himself.

"He understands the bereaved will seek an explanation, but he cannot provide an explanation."

Members of Ms Spencer-Horn's family were present to see Methven appear in the dock.

Judge Lord Matthews said Methven had pleaded guilty to "an appalling and horrible crime".

He is due to be sentenced on 14 July.