News

Man murdered in sword attack was almost decapitated

Double sword murder victims, Stan Wightman (left) and Colin 'Bap' Lindsay. Picture by Alan Lewis/PhotopressBelfast
Double sword murder victims, Stan Wightman (left) and Colin 'Bap' Lindsay. Picture by Alan Lewis/PhotopressBelfast Double sword murder victims, Stan Wightman (left) and Colin 'Bap' Lindsay. Picture by Alan Lewis/PhotopressBelfast

A FATHER of five who murdered two men with a Samurai sword in a "frenzied" and "brutal" attack almost decapitated one of his victims, a court heard today.

Albert Armstrong has already been handed a life sentence for the murders of Colin 'Bap' Lindsay and Stanley Wightman, who both died as a result of "catastrophic" injuries.

While veteran loyalist Mr Lindsay (47) was almost decapitated with his own sword, his 52-year old friend Stanley Wightman almost had a hand severed. He was rushed to hospital but died two days later.

Armstrong, from Gray's Park in Belfast, will learn the minimum term he will serve in prison before being eligible for release when he is brought back to Belfast Crown Court on July 15.

Outlining the Crown case against Armstrong, Crown barrister Neil Connor QC described the deaths of the deceased as "two very violent and brutal killings" which occurred in Mr Lindsay's Kirkiston Walk home on the Belvoir estate in July 8 last year.

At the time Armstrong lived with his partner in Belvoir and was known in the local area as a bit of a handyman.

On the day of the murders Mr Lindsay had been in contact with Armstrong asking him to fix a smoke alarm in his house.

Some time later a trip to the off licence was made and the three men then drank a "considerable quantity of both beer and vodka" in Mr Lindsay's house. Armstrong returned to the off licence at around 5pm, where he bought more beer.

Just over two hours later, Armstrong arrived back at his partner's house in his Mazda. She could tell he had been drinking, and also noticed he had blood on his hand and forehead. She also saw a blood-stained sword in the passenger footwell of the car, wrapped in a pair of black jeans.

When she asked Armstrong what had happened, he told her he had killed two people. He told her "I have killed Bap Lindsay and Stanley. No-body is going to f*** me over again."

Police arrested Armstrong a short time later and within minutes of arriving at the murder scene they found Mr Lindsay dead on the sofa and Mr Wightman severely injured and lying in a pool of blood.

Despite being rushed to hospital, Mr Wightman died two days after the attack from the wounds to his head and neck. His right hand was almost severed at the wrist as he tried to defend himself.

After his arrest, Armstrong wasn't fit to be interviewed until the following day.

Armstrong made the case that when he returned from the second trip to the off licence Mr Lindsay pulled a hatchet out and swung a sword at him. He said both men threatened him and that in the struggle he lashed out and he couldn't remember how many times he hit both of them.

The court also heard Mr Lindsay described as being a vulnerable man due to a disability he sustained as a result of a previous beating he sustained.

Defence barrister Gavan Duffy QC described what happened as a tragedy for the families of the deceased who have since expressed their "grief, loss and sense of anger" through Victim Impact Statements.

He also described the double killing as "something which was completely out of character and very unexpected."

The barrister said that on the day in question, his client had simply gone to fix an alarm - but that all three men ended up "heavily intoxicated" and that a dispute of some kind erupted which resulted in an altercation.