0:00:02 > 0:00:08This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30The murder of Billy Spence,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33a popular bed and breakfast landlord,
0:00:33 > 0:00:36shook the local community of Bangor at the height of the holiday season
0:00:36 > 0:00:37in July 2008.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42There are several other guesthouses close to the Tara.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44This is a very popular street for visitors to stay
0:00:44 > 0:00:47because it's near the marina and the seafront.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Local residents say they are bewildered by what's happened here.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54I was at home here the day that Billy was murdered.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56I'd heard the radio in the morning
0:00:56 > 0:00:58saying an incident had happened in Bangor.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01I wasn't sure whereabouts, or who it had happened to.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05I remember we had a friend in hospital and he phoned -
0:01:05 > 0:01:09waking very early in the hospital, he phoned -
0:01:09 > 0:01:13and he'd heard on the news that there was a body found at Tara.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17I went out the back to go and see if I could find anything out
0:01:17 > 0:01:18but the police had it cordoned off
0:01:18 > 0:01:20and you couldn't get near anywhere.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24I said, "We'll ring Billy's number, phone number," because Billy
0:01:24 > 0:01:27always had his phone with him wherever he was,
0:01:27 > 0:01:28but there was no reply.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30I really had a real sick feeling.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33I thought, "That's not right, Billy would always answer."
0:01:33 > 0:01:36And then, as the morning progressed, the reporters arrived
0:01:36 > 0:01:42and then we found out it was Billy. It was very, very sad.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Immediately, I thought to myself, I can't think of anybody who
0:01:44 > 0:01:47would want to murder anyone, let alone Billy.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52And that was a day that you just would never forget.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04Billy owned Tara Guesthouse, I'm sure it's 20 years or more.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08And it started as bedsits and he built it up, bit by bit.
0:02:08 > 0:02:14And he worked on it until it's now about 14 rooms, all ensuite.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19It was just his pride and his joy and he just loved it.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23At the start, he was cook, cleaner, he did everything,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27and he was there 24/7, it was sort of his wee life, really.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Everybody loved Billy. He was a great character.
0:02:37 > 0:02:44He was very, very generous, very, very kind, and people loved him.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46He was a people person.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49He was someone who loved to have people around him.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51He was a friend to everyone.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Billy Spence was a man who always saw the best in people.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03His generous nature was widely acknowledged,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05but, in the end, he paid for it with his life.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Debbie McMaster was the senior investigating officer on the case.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23She arrived at the Tara Guesthouse at 8am on the 1st July 2008
0:03:23 > 0:03:27and proceeded to the crime scene at the rear of the house.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34I immediately noticed that there was an elderly man, which we now know
0:03:34 > 0:03:38was Billy, lying in a prone position, surrounded in a pool of blood.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45He was lying beside an ironing board that had been tipped over
0:03:45 > 0:03:47and that too was covered in blood,
0:03:47 > 0:03:48with footmarks,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51bloody footmarks surrounding him.
0:03:51 > 0:03:57There was also a black handle of a knife, without the blade,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59a short distance from the body.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04And, looking up to the roof, there was a hole in the Perspex roof.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08It had been smashed as though something or someone had fallen through it.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13Beyond that was his private bathroom.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19In the shower there was a pair of jeans that had been soaked.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23This obviously was to wash any bloodstain from the jeans.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27I then went into what was Billy's private bedroom
0:04:27 > 0:04:31and I noticed a lot of articles lying on his bed.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38The CCTV unit that was in his bedroom had been switched off
0:04:38 > 0:04:40and there was a broken CD lying on the floor.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46This looked to me like a burglary that perhaps had gone wrong
0:04:46 > 0:04:49and then, realising that there was CCTV footage, also an attempt
0:04:49 > 0:04:53to destroy any evidence that we could possibly obtain through that.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Despite the unpromising state of the CCTV equipment,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00it was to prove critical as the investigation progressed.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Meanwhile, the forensics team was called upon to examine
0:05:04 > 0:05:08the extensive distribution of blood at the scene of the crime.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Inside the bathroom itself there were
0:05:12 > 0:05:15a series of drops of blood on the floor
0:05:15 > 0:05:17and these had formed passively.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20In other words, they had fallen directly from an open wound
0:05:20 > 0:05:22directly onto the tiles of the bathroom floor.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26And there were some drops actually on the outer side of the door.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30This would give the impression that someone was actually injured,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34seriously cut, whilst they were in the bathroom
0:05:34 > 0:05:38and then they have proceeded out into the laundry room.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41So it might suggest that the initial part of the attack had occurred
0:05:41 > 0:05:46in the bathroom before Mr Spence had been killed in the laundry room.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50It appeared to be a repeated series of stabs
0:05:50 > 0:05:52both to the head and to the body.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55And because the body was lying on its back,
0:05:55 > 0:05:59it gave the appearance that these had actually been directed downwards.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03It would appear that Mr Spence didn't offer
0:06:03 > 0:06:05a great deal of resistance at that stage.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08He hadn't moved about very much on the floor,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10he hadn't been struggling with his attacker,
0:06:10 > 0:06:15yet he was continuing to be stabbed and wounded about the face and body.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19It was obvious that the knife handle which was
0:06:19 > 0:06:23lying near the feet of the body, the blade had been broken off,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26and we put a considerable amount of effort into trying to find that knife blade.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29When it came into the laboratory, it was bloodstained.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33The forensics officers hoped the knife would lead them to the killer,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36but a pair of training shoes located in the bathroom
0:06:36 > 0:06:40would also prove to be of vital importance.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42The sole pattern from these shoes
0:06:42 > 0:06:44appeared to be in the blood beside the body.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49These footmarks had all been made by the same outsole pattern,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52in other words all made by the same pair of shoes.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56In fact, you could actually see, in the mark, the word "Lacoste",
0:06:56 > 0:06:59running the whole length of the mark, from toe to heel.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04There was a fairly good chance that actually these shoes had belonged to the attacker.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07And the attacker, realising that he's heavily bloodstained,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11has taken them off, changed his clothing.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14It was important for us to identify who these shoes could have come from
0:07:14 > 0:07:19so we swabbed the inners around the tongue and the straps
0:07:19 > 0:07:21which were used for fastening the shoes.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25I requested that the footwear be submitted to the laboratory for further examination.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Police were puzzled by the motivation of a killer
0:07:44 > 0:07:48who would make a cursory attempt to dispose of evidence,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51but ultimately leave so many vital clues at the scene of the crime.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56I examined the body of the deceased at Belfast City Mortuary
0:07:56 > 0:08:00and observed that he had a bruise on his forehead.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05The bruise comprised the letter C and the letter O.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Finding a bruise like that on the deceased's forehead,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11which matched the outsoles of a pair of training shoes,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14would indicate in my opinion
0:08:14 > 0:08:20that someone had kicked, stomped or jumped on his head.
0:08:23 > 0:08:24Having seen the level of violence
0:08:24 > 0:08:27that had been inflicted on Billy Spence,
0:08:27 > 0:08:31police were eager to catch the culprit as quickly as possible.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Our initial investigation led us to a very important witness
0:08:37 > 0:08:42who happened to see a male person at the front of Tara Guesthouse
0:08:42 > 0:08:46somewhere in the region of about 11.20 on that evening.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49He noticed him going round the back of his premises
0:08:49 > 0:08:51and he goes out and challenges him.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53He says, "What are you at?"
0:08:53 > 0:08:56This male climbs over the fence
0:08:56 > 0:09:00and makes off along the back entry of Princetown Road.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04The neighbour of Billy's,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08actually having chased this youth away from his property,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11goes to bed about 10r 15 minutes later and looks out and actually sees
0:09:11 > 0:09:17Billy Spence returning home, and he notices him lifting bags from the boot of his car
0:09:17 > 0:09:22and entering the rear of his house at 49 Princetown Road.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27As it turned out, there was a further witness closer to home.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30One of the Billy Spence's own guests had heard activity
0:09:30 > 0:09:31outside his bedroom window
0:09:31 > 0:09:36and looked out to find a hole in the Perspex roof below.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38It would seem very likely that the culprit,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40having seen an open window,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44had tried to use this entrance to get into the house
0:09:44 > 0:09:47and in doing so fell through the Perspex roof.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53This particular guest had gone to sleep for a period of time
0:09:53 > 0:09:58and had been woken some time in the early hours of the morning,
0:09:58 > 0:10:02about 3:00am, or thereabouts, by someone opening his bedroom door.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09He noticed that this person was just wearing a pair of boxer shorts
0:10:09 > 0:10:12and he thought this very strange.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15The guest asked, "Is there something wrong?" He replied:
0:10:15 > 0:10:18"Security check. Is everything OK?"
0:10:22 > 0:10:25This particular guest thinks this is strange
0:10:25 > 0:10:28and he gets up out of bed and opens the door
0:10:28 > 0:10:31and sees this young male walking down the hall
0:10:31 > 0:10:34with just a pair of boxer shorts on and carrying a key,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38which we believe was probably the master key to the rooms.
0:10:40 > 0:10:41Then he goes back to his room
0:10:41 > 0:10:45and tries to settle down again for the night.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49He lies for about 15 or 20 minutes, can't settle, then gets up
0:10:49 > 0:10:51and puts his dressing gown on
0:10:51 > 0:10:55and goes downstairs to see what's happening.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00He comes across a young male who he believes is the male
0:11:00 > 0:11:05that came into his bedroom carrying a bag over his shoulder and dressed
0:11:05 > 0:11:08and he confronts him and says, "Where are you going?"
0:11:08 > 0:11:11And this young male tells him, "I'm going to work."
0:11:11 > 0:11:13And he leaves the premises.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18What really took place in the house that night would never be fully explained,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22but internal CCTV footage would prove instrumental
0:11:22 > 0:11:24in fitting the pieces together.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30The digital recorded in Tara guest house was damaged by the suspect.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34But it was only the CD DVD disk drive on the front of the unit
0:11:34 > 0:11:39that was maybe hit by an object.
0:11:39 > 0:11:45But the hard drive disk embedded inside the machine was perfectly intact.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48The first thing I noticed on the footage
0:11:48 > 0:11:50was a male person enter the porch.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53He was wearing a hooded dark top.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57He puts his arm through the letterbox
0:11:57 > 0:12:01and tries to force the door from the inside, obviously looking for a key.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06He gives up after a while and leaves.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11A short time later, he's picked up inside the hallway of Tara
0:12:11 > 0:12:16and then we see, again a short time later, that he's taken his top off
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and he's walking round the lower part of the house
0:12:19 > 0:12:21carrying a knife.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22He came from one hallway
0:12:22 > 0:12:25across into the next, comes through the adjoining door
0:12:25 > 0:12:28and looks up into the second camera,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31where we get a really good frontal view.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35Once we got a clear picture, I was asked to leave the room
0:12:35 > 0:12:40because this was then a police controlled piece of evidence.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44The next thing we saw on the footage was Mr Spence arriving home
0:12:44 > 0:12:47at the rear of the house in his car at approximately 11:50pm.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51He opens the boot of the car and retrieves shopping from the boot
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and brings it in through the back door of the guesthouse.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58About 10 minutes later, shortly before midnight,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Mr Spence comes up through the house to the front door
0:13:01 > 0:13:05and appears to lock the outside front door
0:13:05 > 0:13:07and come back in through the porch door
0:13:07 > 0:13:10we had earlier seen the youth try to force.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15It's a bit alarming at this stage because we were aware at that stage
0:13:15 > 0:13:20that this youth was still inside the house when Mr Spence arrived home.
0:13:20 > 0:13:26The CCTV system, we know, was turned off at 12:19am.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29So we believe, having seen Billy come into the house,
0:13:29 > 0:13:34that the murder has occurred some time between 12:00am and 12:19am,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36when the computer has been turned off.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43The footage was shown to officers at Bangor Police Station
0:13:43 > 0:13:45in an attempt to identify the youth.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47It proved fruitless
0:13:47 > 0:13:50and the team had to resort to other means of identification.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00On Thursday the 3rd of July 2008, accompanied by another officer,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03I went to the Simon Community in Central Avenue in Bangor.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06As part of normal procedure, I would have checked hostels,
0:14:06 > 0:14:10guesthouses, anywhere near the scene of the murder in close proximity.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13I introduced myself to a member of staff
0:14:13 > 0:14:17and she informed me that staff were conducting a meeting
0:14:17 > 0:14:21with the assistant director of the Simon Community
0:14:21 > 0:14:25and thought it was important that I come into the meeting.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28The meeting had been called to discuss a resident named James McCoy,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31whose recent behaviour had worried staff.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35They were quite concerned about Mr McCoy's behaviour,
0:14:35 > 0:14:39especially over the last few days from the 1st of July.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41- You can't get in. You're drunk. - I'm not drunk.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Go away and sober up for an hour and then come back.
0:14:44 > 0:14:49'James had been last seen by the night porter shortly after 10:00pm on the evening of the 30th of June.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52'He noticed James had been drinking'
0:14:52 > 0:14:56and wouldn't allow him into the Simon Community because of their no-drink policy.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00He hadn't returned until 8:20am the following morning,
0:15:00 > 0:15:01on the 1st of July.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03When James McCoy returned,
0:15:03 > 0:15:08he was wearing ill-fitting clothes that clearly didn't belong to him
0:15:08 > 0:15:13and was carrying a black holdall which staff had never seen before.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16I was then shown CCTV footage, internal CCTV footage,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18recorded inside the Simon Community.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22I got a clear view of James.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25It was obvious that this was the same person we had seen
0:15:25 > 0:15:29and identified in the Tara Guesthouse
0:15:29 > 0:15:31on the evening of the 30th of June
0:15:31 > 0:15:33and the early hours of the 1st of July.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37A short time later, I think it was about 12:15pm,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41I was made aware by a member of staff that James had returned to the Simon Community.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45He'd come in through the back door. I was standing in the reception area.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50I then approached James, made him aware of my identity
0:15:50 > 0:15:54and restrained James because I wasn't sure at that stage
0:15:54 > 0:15:57whether or not he still had the knife in his possession.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02James McCoy, I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of William Spence.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Staff immediately entered McCoy's room
0:16:11 > 0:16:15and seized the articles of clothing, which they thought to be suspect.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21These items were then taken for forensic examination
0:16:21 > 0:16:26which later established that the items did in fact belong to Mr Spence.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29They were obviously taken from Tara Guesthouse.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34James McCoy was interviewed in Bangor Police Station.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36He was interviewed a total of 10 times
0:16:36 > 0:16:39between the 3rd of July to the 5th of July.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44Throughout his interviews, he told blatant lies
0:16:44 > 0:16:46to such an extent
0:16:46 > 0:16:50that he made stories up that were easily refuted.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52OK, James. Why did you murder William Spence?
0:16:52 > 0:16:54I didn't.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58- I didn't.- What was your involvement in the murder of William Spence?
0:16:58 > 0:17:00No involvement.
0:17:00 > 0:17:06He gave an alibi that he had got the last bus from Bangor to Ards
0:17:06 > 0:17:11and got off at Ards, met up with friends, consumed drugs and alcohol,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14blanked out for a period of time,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17woke up and got a taxi from Ards to his mother's house.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20You told us you got the last bus to Ards.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24The last bus to Ards is at 10:20pm.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28But you were seen leaving the hostel at 10:25pm. That's lies.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31- I was blocked and I was stoned. - No, no.- When I came out...
0:17:31 > 0:17:35You told me... You told me what you'd done.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Sometimes blow does that to you.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39I'm telling you, you told me lies.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42You told me lies, OK? That's all I'm saying.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46We checked the footage, the internal footage of the bus.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48You're not on the bus.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53We know from the CCTV footage that we had already obtained from Bangor
0:17:53 > 0:17:56that James McCoy didn't get a taxi from Ards.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01We know in fact that he got a taxi from Bangor between 4:30am and 5:00am
0:18:01 > 0:18:03to his mother's house in Ballywalter.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Police were able to locate the taxi driver,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09who confirmed that a young male, carrying a black holdall
0:18:09 > 0:18:12had journeyed from Bangor to Ballywalter
0:18:12 > 0:18:14in the early hours of July the 1st.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18He placed the black holdall he was carrying in the back seat
0:18:18 > 0:18:21and he got into the front seat beside the taxi driver
0:18:21 > 0:18:25and he chatted to him on route from Bangor to Ballywalter.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30- Are you the person having the conversation with the taxi driver regarding the army?- No.
0:18:30 > 0:18:35- Would you be willing to undergo an identification parade if you're not the person in the taxi?- No.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37You're not willing to?
0:18:37 > 0:18:39OK.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44During the interviews, James was asked what he had been doing that day
0:18:44 > 0:18:48and he expressed that he had consumed quite a lot of alcohol
0:18:48 > 0:18:52throughout the day and into the later part of the evening.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55We have CCTV footage which would confirm that.
0:18:55 > 0:19:01James had been drinking at the rear of the Simon Community on the evening of the 30th of June.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05He'd been drinking for some time and staff were quite concerned
0:19:05 > 0:19:09and I think at one stage the police were called and moved them on.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14At a later stage, they returned and James had been quite abusive
0:19:14 > 0:19:17to a member of staff from the Simon Community.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19- James.- What?- Come here.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24James had a Rangers football top on
0:19:24 > 0:19:26and he knows within the Simon Community, they're not allowed
0:19:26 > 0:19:30to wear any football tops that would antagonise people
0:19:30 > 0:19:36and that would appear to be the frame of mind that he was in that evening, accompanied by a lot of alcohol.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41He was slightly aggressive and aggravating.
0:19:41 > 0:19:42Is that you in the photograph, James?
0:19:42 > 0:19:45- Aye.- Yes.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47I wasn't there but.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51Let's go back. This is you in the photograph.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55It looks like me but it's not me because I've got a twin brother.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59This is you in the photograph here. You've said it's you.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03This male with the knife. Are you saying it's your twin brother?
0:20:03 > 0:20:07- Uh-huh.- What's the name of your twin brother?- Mark.- Mark.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12- Where does Mark live?- England. - Whereabouts in England?- Manchester.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Whereabouts in Manchester?
0:20:15 > 0:20:18- I don't know. I never went to see him.- I'll ask you again.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Is that you with the knife in the photograph?
0:20:20 > 0:20:24Or are you going to continue with this ridiculous story about your twin brother?
0:20:26 > 0:20:29- You're on camera here.- I know.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33You've got a large knife in your hand. What has happened?
0:20:33 > 0:20:37- What has happened in the Tara Guesthouse?- Nothing.
0:20:37 > 0:20:38It's just my fishing knife.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42That is you with your knife?
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Yeah. But it's blunt.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53McCoy's far-fetched twin brother theory was no stranger
0:20:53 > 0:20:57than the details which were yet to emerge from the interviews.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00McCoy had used Tara Guesthouse on many occasions
0:21:00 > 0:21:04when access to the Simon Community had been denied.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07He was familiar with the layout of the house,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10the habits of the owner and the house rules.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14It was later revealed that McCoy had been caught on the premises
0:21:14 > 0:21:16several times by Billy Spence,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19but the good-natured landlord had given the troubled youth
0:21:19 > 0:21:23the benefit of the doubt and failed to report the incidents to the police.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28So do you go there on a regular basis?
0:21:30 > 0:21:34- Sometimes.- OK. - When I've been kicked out.- OK.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37And do you go in and stay in a room?
0:21:37 > 0:21:41No. I just go and sleep in the toilets until I sober up.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46OK. And do you know or did you know William Spence?
0:21:47 > 0:21:48Just a wee bit.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52We know that Billy has entered the house,
0:21:52 > 0:21:54checked the lock on the front door
0:21:54 > 0:22:00and at some stage shortly after that, Billy has confronted James McCoy,
0:22:00 > 0:22:05who I believe has been in his private bedroom washroom area at the time.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Hey! What are you doing in my room?
0:22:09 > 0:22:11What made you go mad, James?
0:22:11 > 0:22:14The drugs. And the drink.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16- Did you grab him first of all?- No.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18Did he grab you and try to throw you out?
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Did he say, "There's James in my guesthouse again.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23"I've told you before, get out"?
0:22:23 > 0:22:26I'm putting it to you that you just lost it.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28You said, "I'll show you."
0:22:28 > 0:22:31You're running about with a big knife in your left hand.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34- That doesn't mean anything. - What sparked this, James?
0:22:34 > 0:22:36- I'm calling the police. - Tell the truth.- I didn't kill him.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40- MAN SCREAMS Tell the truth.- I didn't.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43OK, I'm going to go through with you the injuries that you inflicted on him.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45He has large defence wounds.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47He has knife cuts to both hands.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51He's tried to grab the blade of the knife, that's what's happened.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53- You remember that?- No.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55I don't remember nothing.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59Now, a postmortem is being carried out.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03And the preliminary cause of death is due to stab wounds and trauma to the head.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Now, there is a footwear pattern on his head.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Will that pattern come back to be your training shoes?
0:23:10 > 0:23:15- They're not mine.- The blade of the knife is at least 14.5cm long.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18That's how deeply he was stabbed.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21- Did you stab him?- No.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Did you jump on his head?
0:23:23 > 0:23:26- No.- Are you sure, James?
0:23:26 > 0:23:27Yes.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31James McCoy had been seen leaving Tara guesthouse around 4am
0:23:31 > 0:23:33on the morning of 1 July.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35What are those keys?
0:23:35 > 0:23:36Car keys.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40Police were therefore keen to know what McCoy had been doing
0:23:40 > 0:23:43on the premises in the hours that followed his attack on Billy Spence.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49During our investigation, there was a computer,
0:23:49 > 0:23:53which was located near the scene of the murder.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56And beside that computer, there was a sheet of paper
0:23:56 > 0:24:00that indicated that pornographic material was being printed out.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03From that, we carried out analysis on the computer,
0:24:03 > 0:24:08and the computer activity started at 11:28,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11and died off again then at 11.35.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18It resumed activity at 12.59, and was in use continuously
0:24:18 > 0:24:21until 3:23 in the morning.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Google was used to access pornographic websites and Bebo.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33And not only that, he had also used Billy Spence's credit card
0:24:33 > 0:24:34to access these.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43When you were at the computer, were you masturbating?
0:24:43 > 0:24:45- No.- Were you?- No.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49Forensic examinations are ongoing at that scene.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51And obviously they're being painstakingly done,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54but in the area of the computer station, there is semen.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58As the investigation progressed,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01we were getting some forensic results through, some very quickly,
0:25:01 > 0:25:06and the fact that the trainers that were found in Billy's washroom,
0:25:06 > 0:25:11within 36 hours, we were able to say that the habitual wearer
0:25:11 > 0:25:13of those trainers was James McCoy.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15And that was good to the effect
0:25:15 > 0:25:18that we were able to put that to James McCoy during interview.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21You're on camera with a knife.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25You've turned off the CCTV system in an attempt to cover your tracks.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28You've tried to clean your jeans.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31You have left your training shoes in a panic, covered in blood.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34We have already proved that you're the wearer of the shoes.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37When I introduced that,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40you changed your story to suit the new evidence that I introduced.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42- And I've caught you out. - Aye, dead on(!)
0:25:43 > 0:25:45And you're sitting here,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48and you can't show the slightest bit of remorse for what you done.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55Is there anything you want to say before we close this interview down, James?
0:25:57 > 0:25:59I never done nothing.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05It got to the stage where we, as the police, had sufficient evidence
0:26:05 > 0:26:09and we had put everything to him that we could possibly put to him
0:26:09 > 0:26:13to give them an opportunity to say his side of the story.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16And he still denied it.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18So it got to the stage, late on Saturday evening,
0:26:18 > 0:26:23when we charged James McCoy with the murder of Billy Spence.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28James William McCoy is charged with murdering Billy Spence
0:26:28 > 0:26:30here at the Tara Guesthouse on Tuesday.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35He's 19, and his address was given in court as the Simon Community Hostel
0:26:35 > 0:26:36at Central Avenue in Bangor.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43James McCoy continued to plead not guilty,
0:26:43 > 0:26:47until the first day of his trial in January, 2010,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49when he changed his plea to guilty.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54The defence had described McCoy as a vulnerable young man,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57because of his circumstances and mental health problems.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00He was convicted of murder and aggravated burglary
0:27:00 > 0:27:04and given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 12and-a-half years.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11In my work, I would see death a fair amount, obviously, so I would.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15But when I look at the death of Billy, I struggle with it greatly,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18because of the violence.
0:27:18 > 0:27:19It just didn't sink in.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22You just didn't think that that could happen to Billy.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25You know, he was the nicest man ever, and you just thought,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27"Who on Earth would ever have done that to him?"
0:27:27 > 0:27:29I don't go round there any more.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31I've nothing to go there for any more.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34I'd rather stay at this side of the road.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37It's too... It's sad. Big gap.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41I think with Billy's sad passing,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44a great hole has been left in the town of Bangor.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50He probably didn't realise how much he was respected.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Not just locally, but farther afield.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56And if I may, I would like to read a card here
0:27:56 > 0:28:01that was sent from a young man called Stephen.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04"I needed to say something. I am deeply sorry for your loss.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08"I lived in Billy's house for a few years in the late '80s.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10"I was going through a strange time in my life,
0:28:10 > 0:28:15"but his kindness to me went way beyond giving me a home.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20"Billy fed me often, talked to me and gave me time and counsel and advice
0:28:20 > 0:28:24"that has had a lasting, positive influence on my life."
0:28:24 > 0:28:26That's only one card of many cards
0:28:26 > 0:28:29and letters that came in to the family at that time.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33And I think that it showed just what a sense of loss there really is
0:28:33 > 0:28:35in this tragedy.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd