Killer admits stabbing Andrew Alexander 81 times

A killer stabbed his victim 81 times then went to play roulette after the attack, a court has heard.

Robert Mason admitted murdering Andrew Alexander, 56, in a frenzied assault at a flat in Dennistoun in January.

The High Court in Glasgow heard Mason had earlier bought a blade from a shop after claiming he was "sick" at the way he was being treated.

The 30-year-old, who has previous convictions for carrying a knife, will be sentenced in August.

The court heard the murder happened following a dispute over money.

The killer, who was described in court as a "Jekyll and Hyde character", had known Mr Alexander for a number of months prior to his death.

The 56 year-old had given Mason cash - believed to be around £30 - but had never been repaid.

Mr Alexander eventually put a note through his letterbox asking him to call.

The court heard that on 28 January - the day of the murder - Mason told his partner Nicole Wright that he was "sick" at how he was being treated by Mr Alexander.

He later went to a shop in the city's Trongate and purchased a knife before meeting Mr Alexander at his home in Dennistoun.

Prosecutor Lesley Shand QC said Mr Alexander was set upon at his flat, suffering a total of 81 stab wounds.

A blood-stained Mason fled the property and was soon spotted going into a Ladbrokes bookmakers nearby to play roulette and other games machines.

The killer later ditched gloves, clothes and a watch worn during the attack.

Mr Alexander - who lived alone - was reported missing the next day by a friend.

His body was eventually discovered by police in his flat lying face down in a pool of blood.

The court was told the murder weapon was never recovered.

Mason was quizzed by police and initially claimed he had not seen Mr Alexander for days.

Mason's QC, Robert Anthony, said he accepted he was guilty of a "frenzied and violent attack".

He added: "There is very obvious remorse shown."

The advocate said Mason had described himself as "normally rather quiet" but could be a "Jekyll and Hyde character".

Judge Lord Turnbull adjourned sentencing until 19 August.

The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde By Robert Louis ...

. To King’s thinking, Stevenson’s quickly written tale of split personality is the best example of the werewolf archetype in modern fiction. And who would know better than King?

But most people’s vision of Jekyll and Hyde is either of a bipolar personality (a term most people don’t really understand) or someone who turns into a mindless monster, being a virtuous soul the rest of the time. That actually is nothing like the titular Jekyll and Hyde.

Stevenson’s classic is about Victorian repression and one man’s attempt to chemically get around it. Dr. Henry Jekyll, we eventually learn, is stifled by Victorian England’s labrynth of mores and social requirements. He uses a potion to transform himself into a completely different person, one who cares not about social strictures, who can go out drinking and carousing and partaking of London’s whore houses with absolutely no consequences.

So when we meet Edward Hyde, he’s a charming bastard. And I do mean bastard. In his first appearance, Hyde’s coming home from a night of partying and carousing when he thoughtlessly tramples over little girl. (What the little girl was doing out at 4 in the morning really says that her parents is a bit disturbing, but hey, they’re not trampling her, are they.) Hyde is clearly a sociopath, but he’s a reasonable sociopath. He offers to pay the family to care for the girl.

But later, in a fit of irrational rage, Hyde beats a popular Member of Parliament to death, again in the wee hours of the morning. So is Hyde a monster?

Actually, Jekyll is. He confesses to two of his closest friends that he was looking for a way to get around Victorian society’s repressive customs. So he chemically created Edward Hyde to allow him to go out and party and whore around and basically be as scandalous as he wants to be without tainting his sainted image. In other words, Jekyll wants to have his cake and eat it, too. Only Hyde has a small problem. He’s really just another side of Henry Jekyll, and when Jekyll is Hyde, Jekyll’s inner psychopath breaks out to roam free.

So really, Hyde is not Jekyll’s problem.  Jekyll is Hyde’s.

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