Man who walked into police station to confess to 40-year-old murder is jailed for 19 years

Watch John Paul confessing to murder at Hammersmith Police Station

A man has been jailed for 19 years after walking into a police station and confessing to a murder from more than 40 years ago.

Porter and part-time barman Anthony Bird, 42, was found naked with his wrists bound at his flat in Kensington Gardens Square, west London, on 6 June 1980.

His murder remained a mystery for 41 years, until John Paul, 61, confessed to police last year that he had “battered him” with a lump of wood.

Paul, of Ladbroke Grove, Kensington, went on to deny murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter at his trial at the Old Bailey.

It was claimed his confession to the killing was not reliable and that even if he was responsible, he did not intend to do Mr Bird really serious harm.

A jury deliberated for half a day before finding Paul guilty of murder last month.

On Friday, Mrs Cheema-Grubb jailed him for life with a minimum term of 19 years.

She said: "It was merciless and motivated by a wish to take that which did not belong to you.

"I have no doubt this was a murder done for gain. You decided he was a target you could exploit."

The court had heard how Paul walked into Hammersmith Police Station at 9.38am on Wednesday 5 May last year and said he wanted to report a murder in 1980.

He went on to to give further details, telling an officer: "He approached me and just spoke to me and just talked me into having sex with him.

"He took me back to his place. I tied him with cord. I think the cord was black, I’m not sure. I tied him with a cord, his ankles, his hands, his arms, on the bed naked.

"There was a piece of wood. I used the piece of wood to batter him."

The court heard that some years after Mr Bird's death, Paul told doctors that the man had propositioned him for sex while he was out to steal something and that he had gone home with him.

After Mr Bird failed to turn up for work at the Railway Tap pub, police were called to one-bedroom flat, jurors heard.

Officers used a sledgehammer to smash into the property and found that it appeared to have been "ransacked", Mr Price said.

The investigation revealed that Paul’s fingerprints matched three prints lifted from the original crime scene.

The prosecutor told jurors: “The officers went into the bedroom. On the bed they found the lifeless body of Tony Bird. He was naked. He was lying on his side. His knees were tucked up and his legs were crossed.

“Black electrical flex was bound tightly around his left wrist and around his left ankle. There was the mark of a cord around his right wrist. There were numerous marks and apparent bruising on his body.”

The court was told two planks of wood were found at the scene.

Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Reeves said: “It is not every day that someone walks into a police station confessing to murder decades ago.

She said officers may never know what prompted him to confess to the murder".

"However, the result of this case coming years after his death has finally brought answers to Anthony Bird’s family," DCI Reeves added.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Bird’s family said they were left “devastated, shocked and traumatised” by his death.

"Sadly his brother died last year and was therefore unable to take comfort from the closure that the court case has brought," they said in a statement.

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