My son’s murderer should be hanged

THE father of a chef murdered by his girlfriend’s stalker ex-boyfriend has called for the death penalty to be brought back so he could see his son’s killer hang.

Derek Alexander spoke out after Frank Moore, 43, was convicted of killing his son Stewart Taylor, 33.

A heartbroken Mr Alexander said his son’s death had devastated his family and said Moore deserved to “rot in hell”.

At the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday, builder Moore was convicted of trying to kill his former partner, Lynsey Methven, 30, and of murdering Mr Taylor.

Firefighters found Ms Methven, a betting shop assistant, in a smoke-filled Edinburgh flat. Mr Taylor, of Aberdeenshire, was found lying in the kitchen, barely alive and suffering from a massive skull fracture.

He had a heart attack and died shortly after firefighters pulled him out of the flat.

Yesterday the Evening News told how Ms Methven and Mr Taylor had not reported Moore to the police over his continued harassment of them – including abusive and threatening phone calls – as they had hoped he would give up and go away.

Today Mr Alexander said: “I think they should bring back the death penalty – he deserves to be hung. I think a life sentence is too good for him. He deserves a lot more. It has been devastating for us and we are trying to come to terms with what has happened. We want to remember the good times with Stewart.

“I’m happy over the conviction. I just hope Moore gets what he deserves. I hope he rots in hell. It has been extremely hard to put the family through the court case and relive it all again.

“But now we can hopefully put it behind us and remember the good times with Stewart.”

Moore attacked the pair in Ms Methven’s flat in Chalmers Crescent on the morning of February 7.

He was also found guilty of bombarding her with obscene and menacing phone calls and text messages during the weeks leading up to the attacks. The killer was further convicted of attempting to cover up the murder and attempted murder.

An allegation that Moore started a fire in the flat deliberately was dropped after fire investigators said a cushion had smouldered after being left close to an electric heater.

The trial heard two days after the attack Ms Methven woke up in intensive care at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, and told a nurse: “It was Frank” or “It must have been Frank.”

Lord Pentland described Moore as a “violent and dangerous man” and told him he had committed “despicable crimes”.

The court heard he also had a record for violence, making threatening phone calls and breaches of the peace, mostly of “a domestic nature”.

Moore will be sentenced next month.