A KILLER wipes down the bloody knife he had just used to stab his ex to death in a chilling video and images released by cops.
William Finlay, 68, was today sentenced to a minimum of 20 years for what a judge branded his “vicious, unrelenting attack”.
The cowardly killer, of Whitehead, Co Antrim, pleaded guilty last year to murdering 64-year-old mother-of-four Alyson Nelson.
He had arrived at her Victoria Avenue home, walked in and launched the horror daylight attack before walking away within a minute.
Mr Justice O’Hara told Belfast Crown Court that Ms Nelson was a former nurse and that “public service ran in her family”.
Two New York cops stabbed during celebrations in Times Square
He said the pair had met online in December 2018 and he 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 - but Finlay could not bear it.
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”.
William Finlay has been told he will serve a minimum of 20 years of a life sentence after being convicted of the murder of his former partner in April 2022.
PPS senior public prosecutor Keith Harbinson said: “Finlay went armed with a knife from his kitchen to Ms Nelson’s house early on the evening of April 16 2022.
“He carried out a shocking and violent attack on his defenceless victim in her own home, stabbing her seven times in less than a minute.”
Relatives of Ms Nelson embraced outside Belfast Crown Court following the sentencing.
In a statement read by Detective Inspector Michelle Griffin, they described a “bittersweet moment”.
“On Saturday 16th April 2022 our lives changed forever. Our beautiful mum Alyson was brutally murdered in her own home, the very place she should have felt most safe and secure,” they said.
“That day she was stolen away from us forever. There have and continue to be so many family occasions that she should have been a big part of.
At least nine killed after New Year's Day stampede at shopping centre
"She’ll never again be able to celebrate the birthdays, the Christmases, the barbeques or any of the other family get-togethers that she used to love and look forward to so much.
“Today is bittersweet. It may well be the conclusion of legal proceedings, and for that we are relieved, but for us as a family the pain and sorrow caused by the loss of our mum, sister, nanny and friend is immeasurable.”
