Hospital security guard found guilty of killing Annan Army veteran in brutal murder

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A hospital security guard is facing a life sentence for murdering an army veteran and trying to kill another man with a similar weapon.

Married dad-of-two Paul Taylor was reported missing by his wife, Maria, on October 18 last year. She had seen him the previous evening “laughing away” watching television at their family home in Annan.

Later that night, Mr Taylor left their address for what became a tragic and fatal meeting with teenager Jack Crawley, then aged 19, at a secluded spot on the outskirts of Carlisle.

Mr Taylor was a catering manager at the city’s Cumberland Infirmary, where Crawley also worked, and described as a “workaholic”.

Carlisle Crown Court heard how Mr Taylor met men for sex and hid his double life from loved ones. He had previously bought cannabis and engaged in sexual activity with bisexual Crawley, now 20, the pair communicating via gay dating app Grindr.

After Mr Taylor’s disappearance, a high profile missing person appeal and then a murder probe were launched by detectives.

On May 1, Crawley disclosed to police that Mr Taylor’s body would be found at the wildlife watcher’s haven of Finglandrigg Wood, near Carlisle.

Officers found skeletal remains. Mr Taylor’s His corpse had been brutally burned and then dragged into a shallow hollow by Crawley, who used branches and sticks to hide them from view.

A pathologist concluded there were at least 10 powerful blows delivered to Mr Taylor’s skull which, a prosecutor said, had been “completely smashed in”.

Further trauma injuries to Mr Taylor’s elbow suggested he may have tried to defend himself from attack. The left lower leg was completely detached from the rest of his body, reported the pathologist, who concluded the terrible injuries could have been caused by a claw hammer.

After Mr Taylor’s death, Crawley made failed attempts to sell his Vauxhall Corsa, which he later crashed and abandoned in the village of Langwathby, near Penrith, on the morning of October 19. While being transported back to Carlisle, Crawley described a person dying being “worse than (serial killer) Jeffrey Dahmer”, and “getting rid of one more rat”.

Following his arrest by police, fright masks, rope, duct tape and cable ties were found in the bedroom of Crawley’s Sheehan Crescent home in Carlisle. Stashed under decking was a bottle of popper containing Mr Taylor’s DNA, which was also found on his blood-stained car.

A download of Crawley’s phone showed captured images of bug sweepers and signal blockers while his own device was switched on to incognito mode.

“The prosecution case is that this was a premeditated murder,” prosecutor David McLachlan KC told the jury. “That Jack Crawley had murder on his mind and carried out his plan by killing Paul Taylor.”

Crawley admitted manslaughter and denied murder, but was convicted, unanimously, yesterday. His claims of a carjacking gone wrong and trying to break up Mr Taylor’s body with a mallet after death and burning it were blown apart by damning forensic evidence. He denied prosecution suggestions that he had a fascination with serial killers.

After his arrest in November on suspicion of murder and release from custody, Crawley later skipped bail from Carlisle.

He was seen around new year in Penrith, disguised and wearing what one train station worker described as an “obviously fake” Hagrid-style beard.

He travelled around Scotland before carrying out another shocking attack in darkness on the outskirts of York on January 5. That victim was another homosexual man in his 50s.

The pair had chatted on Grindr for the first time earlier that day, and arranged to meet in York, just hours after Crawley had bought a claw hammer from a city DIY shop.

The second victim told a jury how Crawley struck him three times with a hammer during their intimate encounter. “He didn’t say anything,” he replied when asked about Crawley’s demeanour.

“It was all very, very quick. He just basically wanted to hurt me. He was aggressive.”

He was injured but managed to wrestle the weapon from Crawley, who ran off and was later arrested in Bath.

Crawley denied attempting to murder that man but was convicted, unanimously, on that charge by jurors.

As the verdicts were announced, Crawley showed no emotion.

Mr Justice Goose told jurors he agreed with their verdicts and that Crawley, who remains in custody, will be sentenced tomorrow.

A second man on trial, 20-year-old Marcus Goodfellow, of Greystone Road, Carlisle, was acquitted of helping Crawley dispose of the Corsa.

In a statement released through Cumbria Police, Mr Taylor’s family said: “Our lives and world were completely torn apart with the murder of Paul. To us he was a husband and a dad, gentle and loving. For many years Paul worked to protect his country giving up time being a husband and father, now was the time for us to be that family unit and we grieve the loss of that and of our future.

“Losing Paul in these circumstances and the torment and hurt this has caused has been horrendous and indescribable. Paul will be dearly missed and he will remain in our thoughts forever.”

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