Two brothers were given life sentences for one of the most brutal murders to come before a Scottish court, after a young father of two was beaten to death and his body set on fire.
Brian Faulds' remains were still smoking when a passerby discovered them on a grass verge next to the River Clyde in September 2011. He was taken to hospital suffering from shock. The body had been bound with tape and struck repeatedly with a knife, cleaver, axes, a hammer and a baseball bat, splitting his head into four. He also suffered severe arm and hand injuries as he tried to defend himself.
Discovery near Commonwealth Games site
The grim find was made in the Dalmarnock area of Glasgow, close to where the athletes' village and cycling velodrome were being built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Brian, 29, was known to police, but that did not excuse the ferocity of the attack. He had two children – a seven-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl – with his girlfriend.
Prior to his murder, Brian took part in a Commonwealth Games TV documentary charting changes to Glasgow's east end. He spoke about his own violent past, his time in jail and his efforts to turn his life around for his children. Despite being only 29 at the time of filming, he admitted he had spent 11 years of his life behind bars. He told the filmmakers: "I don't want this life any more. I'm done with violence. I mean that. I have a few enemies from my past. But I've left that behind me because of the weans. Some people are still looking for me."
Brothers convicted
Three brothers – Paul, Adam and Bryan Christie – quickly emerged as suspects. They appeared for trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in July 2012. During the first day of evidence, jurors and relatives were warned that distressing photos of the body would be shown. One woman left the public benches. After the case resumed, the brothers tendered pleas.
Paul Christie, then 29, and Adam Christie, then 27, admitted murdering Brian. The Crown accepted a not guilty plea by youngest sibling Bryan Christie, then 22, on the murder charge; he admitted a lesser charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Trial judge Lord Tyre told the jury before discharging them: "From the very little evidence you have seen and heard of this trial I am sure this would not have been a pleasant or enjoyable experience."
Sentences and aftermath
Security was tight as the two killers were sentenced, with armed police and sniffer dog teams deployed following threats to the Christies. The brothers had befriended Brian only a few weeks before the murder. The day previously they had been out drinking to celebrate Paul's birthday. A neighbour later heard "dull thuds" from the bedroom below. Paul later revealed to a friend that he and Adam "both did Brian in".
Adam's defence counsel Jock Thomson QC said there was no doubt "alcohol and red mist" were factors. Paul and Adam Christie both had previous convictions. They were given life imprisonment and ordered to serve at least 24 years before parole, later reduced to 21 on appeal. Lord Tyre told them: "The violence which you inflicted on Brian Faulds was horrific. The post-mortem report and photographs which I have seen bear witness to a vicious and sustained attack. Only you know why this happened, but what is clear is that you inflicted at least 30 blows with bladed weapons to the victim's head. The injuries which resulted are truly dreadful."
Bryan was jailed for four and a half years the following month at the High Court in Glasgow for helping to remove the body and clean up the crime scene, including stripping wallpaper and paint and scrubbing surfaces with bleach. Afterwards, Brian's dad Ronald Faulds said he was sickened by the sentence. He added: "Four and-a-half years is a bad joke, it's like a slap in the face. They were goading me in court when I went to see the first two get sentenced. They aren't sorry for what they have done. I just can't believe it. To do what they have done and then end up with these sentences is an utter disgrace."
To this day the motive for the murder remains unclear. A photograph emerged showing the three Christie brothers with Brian, taken just three days before he was murdered. One former detective told the Daily Record: "The levels of violence were off the scale. Brian Faulds was dumped from a wheelie bin as if he was a piece of rubbish. It sounds as though alcohol played a part in the murder but we will probably never know the truth. Though justice was done in the end, it will be his parents who will be serving the life sentence."
