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Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Cocaine-addled postman who killed and decapitated his girlfriend before searching for porn online is jailed for at least 23 years
A postman who murdered and decapitated his 21-year-old girlfriend before searching for internet pornography 170 times has been jailed for a minimum of 23 years. Ewan Methven, now 27, murdered Phoenix Spencer-Horn in the home they shared in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on November 16 2024, after the couple ordered a takeaway to their flat in Glen Lee. In the hours before the killing, Miss Spencer-Horn had texted her mother to say they were eating dinner. Around midnight, neighbours reported hearing 'increased activity' in the top-floor flat. The High Court in Glasgow was told that Methven attacked Miss Spencer-Horn, stabbing her 20 times, including 10 times in the face, before mutilating her body and severing her head, the court heard. Methven had also strangled her, searched for internet pornography 170 times and made repeated attempts to buy cocaine, before spending the weekend driving around in Miss Spencer-Horn's red Corsa, and texting her mother pretending she was still alive, according to prosecutors. On the day of the murder, Methven had sent a message to his partner of two years, saying that her waitress shifts made him 'lonely', the court heard. Miss Spencer-Horn was described as being in 'good spirits' by colleagues at a hotel where she worked, and had replied to her boyfriend apologising, the court heard. After the murder, Methven - who had met his partner at a family party - texted Miss Spencer-Horn's mother, Alison Spencer, pretending to be her. He texted: 'Hey sorry I've just woken up xxx' before searching for pornography, the court heard. On November 18, at about midday, he dialled 999 and told a call-handler: 'I had a psychotic break and killed my wife.' He said: 'We were messing about, I take steroids and was taking cocaine and alcohol, I think there was something else in it ... it was f****** horrible.' He was transferred to a senior police officer, and said: 'I just want to go to jail', and added: 'I have been out my face, I can't remember what happened. I have been driving about all weekend.' Police officers discovered Miss Spencer-Horn's mutilated body hidden under a towel. Methven admitted attempting to remove the limbs and torso from her body with a knife or other instrument. Prosecutor Christopher McKenna previously said that on November 17, Methven accessed pornography from about 8am until about 6.30pm and was noted to have accessed a pornographic video site 170 times, according to forensic analysis. Methven pleaded guilty to murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice at the High Court in Glasgow. The couple had started dating two years before the killing after meeting at a party The court heard he had no previous convictions and, on Monday, he was jailed for 23 years after appearing by videolink at the High Court in Glasgow. Defending, Tony Graham KC, said, in 2024, Methven realised he had an addiction problem, and had written a letter to the judge saying 'in relation to the harm that could cause, it could only be harm to himself', regarding cocaine, steroids and other drugs. Mr Graham read from the letter, which said: 'I know how loved Phoenix was and how she made her family complete. I can't believe I've taken her from them.' He told the court: 'Mr Methven is in a position where he can offer no explanation as to why the course of events which led to Phoenix's death took place, other than his own self-administration of drugs.' He said that Methven 'insists he has taken the life of a person he loved, and appreciates he has caused an enormous void in that family', and 'struggles to reconcile how he could have caused that destruction', the court heard. Mr Graham said that Methven had been 'taken into family home of Phoenix's family and appreciates in that that two-year period he was adopted into that family', and described the murder as 'a betrayal', the court heard. However, he said Methven could not explain why it happened, and added: 'He has flashbacks but no real memory as to how things progressed to this destruction of human life.' Imposing a life sentence, Judge Lord Matthews said Methven had admitted a 'truly dreadful crime'. Lord Matthews said: 'At 21 years old, she was standing at the threshold of what should have been a long and fulfilling life. You were a trusted member of her family but betrayed that trust. 'For reasons no-one will ever understand you strangled her and stabbed her 20 times, including 10 in the face. You robbed her of all dignity in death by decapitating her and trying to dismember her. 'For two days after, you indulged in drug abuse and watching pornography, contacting her mother and pretending to be her.' He added: 'The way you treated this innocent young woman after her death meant her family did not have the comfort of saying goodbye to her.' The judge told Methven: 'The letter by you answers none of the questions which must be plaguing the family. You blame the effect of substances but that is no excuse.'
BBC News
14-07-2025
- BBC News
Man jailed for life for murder of Phoenix Spencer-Horn
A man has been jailed for life for the brutal murder of his girlfriend at their home in South Methven admitted the violent attack on 21-year-old Phoenix Spencer-Horn at a flat in Glen Lee, East Kilbride, in November had attempted to defeat the ends of justice by covering up the crime and pretending to her family that she was still was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in prison at the High Court in Glasgow. WARNING: This article contains distressing details. Sentencing Methven, judge Lord Matthews told him he had "rarely heard such outpourings of grief as in the victim impact statements".He said: "The sadness and deep sense of loss (the family) all feel and continue to feel because of what you did."In a letter to the judge, Methven wrote "I know how loved Phoenix was and how she made her family complete. I cannot believe I have taken her from them."Prosecutors had told the court that Methven choked Ms Spencer-Horn before severing her head and trying to remove her limbs and torso from her that day, Methven, who worked as a postman, had complained to his girlfriend that her waitress shifts made him "lonely".She had exchanged messages with her mother, Alison Spencer, at 21:37 saying they were eating couple had been together for two years and met at a family party, the court was midnight, a downstairs neighbour heard "a loud noise and hurried footsteps" which coincided with increased activity recorded on a phone app measuring Methven's had attacked Ms Spencer-Horn with three knives, stabbing her 20 times. The fatal stab wound was to the chest. There were others in that area as well as to the face and tried to cover up the killing for two days. He spent the weekend driving Ms Spencer-Horn's red Corsa, scrolling through her phone and searching 170 times for internet pornography, as well as making several attempts to buy cocaine, according to prosecutors. He also repeatedly pretended in texts to his victim's mother that her daughter was "alive and well".During an earlier hearing, prosecutor Christopher McKenna said: "The accused murdered his girlfriend, Phoenix Spencer-Horn, in the top-floor flat they shared."Late on Saturday 16 November, he strangled her and stabbed her. He dialled 999 but not until 18 November."Her mutilated and decapitated body was discovered only on 18 November." The court heard that Ms Spencer-Horn had seen her mother the day before she was killed and had been in good spirits at work the day she was a 999 call, Methven claimed that the murder happened during a psychotic episode induced by cocaine, alcohol and steroids - which he claimed he thought had been told the operator he had been "trying to muster up the courage to phone" and that he had "totally blacked out through the thing".The court heard a delivery driver reported Methven "did not appear to be drunk or under the influence" at 20:00 on the night of the murder. Police arrived at the flat and found Ms Spencer-Horn's body covered up in the hallway next to two blood-stained knives. Another bloodied knife was found in the was described as "calm".Upon his arrest, he told officers: "I could not stay here with her like that. I tried to dismember her. I moved her from the bath and put her there."After he was put in a police cell, he said: "I guess this is what my next 25 years look like."His KC Tony Graham said Phoenix's family and friends were likely to regard Methven as the "personification of evil". Following Ms Spencer-Horn's death, a fundraising page amassed thousands of pounds to help with funeral family went on to donate much of it to the Women's Aid charity. Its Glasgow branch thanked the family, saying the cash would be used to protect others and continue her legacy."Her name, Phoenix, now stands for more than loss. It stands for action. For change. For refusing to let her story end in silence," the charity posted on social media."This is what it means to rise from the ashes. To take this devastating crime and use it to protect others."Phoenix should still be here. But her legacy is one that's lifting others up, and that matters. Turning pain into action. Refusing to let her name be forgotten." This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
The Sun
17-06-2025
- The Sun
Evil killer butchered girlfriend before severing head & trying to dismember her at Scots flat
A MONSTER has admitted slaughtering his girlfriend before severing her head and trying to dismember her body. Evil Ewan Methven, 27, subjected petite Phoenix Spencer-Horn, 21, to the explosion of gruesome violence at a flat in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire. 7 7 He also pretended to her mum Alison Spencer that the popular cafe and hotel worker, known as Phe, was still alive after the horrific attack in a bid to dodge justice. Methven appeared in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow today where he tendered a plea of guilty to murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice. 7 7 He admitted throttling Phoenix, from nearby Strathaven,and repeatedly striking her on the head and body with knives or similar instruments. He also admitted a charge that he did 'sever the head and attempt to remove the limbs and torso from the body of Phoenix Spencer-Horn with a knife or similar instrument.' He also did 'repeatedly pretend in telephone messages to her mother, Alison Spencer, that Phoenix Spencer-Horn was alive and well, the truth being as you well knew that she was dead.' 7 7 More to follow... is your go to destination for the best celebrity news, football news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheScottishSun.
