CCTV shows ex-partner William Finlay leave home after 'jealous rage' killing of Alyson Nelson

Chilling CCTV footage has been released showing a man enter the home of his ex-partner and leave one minute later, having stabbed her multiple times in a jealous rage.

William Finlay admitted murdering retired nurse Alyson Nelson in a 'premeditated and vicious' attack in the mother-of-four's Whitehead home in April 2022. 

The 68-year-old, of Old Forde Gardens in Whitehead, was given a 20-year prison sentence on Thursday.

At the tariff hearing in Belfast Crown Court, Mr Justice O’Hara said Ms Nelson was a former nurse and that “public service ran in her family”.

He said Finlay had met Ms Nelson online in December 2018 and had later moved in with her.

After their brief relationship ended, there was ongoing limited contact between them and Ms Nelson had started a new relationship with another man.

The judge said CCTV captured Finlay going to her home on the night of April 16 2022, where he stabbed her a number of times in a “vicious, unrelenting attack”.

Detective Inspector Michelle Griffin has welcomed the sentencing of William Finlay for the murder of Alyson Nelson, describing it as the first for murder aggravated by domestic abuse since new legislation became law in 2022.

Speaking outside Belfast Crown Court, she said: “Today he was told he will serve a minimum of 20 years in prison.

“Alyson Nelson, who was 64 years old, was attacked by William Finlay on Saturday, April 16, 2022. She was stabbed multiple times in her own home in the village of Whitehead. A place she should have felt safe.

“Alyson was a much-loved mother, grandmother and sister. The entire family has suffered a huge loss made only the more agonising by the cruel way in which her life was actually taken.

“William Finlay and Alyson had previously been in a relationship which had ended over a year before the fatal stabbing even took place.

“As a result, William Finlay is the first person in Northern Ireland to be convicted and sentenced for murder which has been aggravated by domestic abuse under new legislation.

“I know that Alyson’s loving family are heartbroken and my thoughts, and the thoughts of our entire team, remain with them today.”

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