TWO burglars "mercilessly" knifed an 83 year old pensioner and then set fire to her body and home to cover their tracks.
Mr Colin King (18) and Mr Adrian Wilson (19) admit burgling the home of Ms Bessie Robson but deny murdering her. Mr King, of Newington Avenue, and Mr Wilson, from Cavehill Road, both in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, blame each other for stabbing the widow. They deny pouring methylated spirits over her and lighting it.
Mr Ronald Appleton QC, prosecuting, said Mr King and Mr Wilson acted together when, they murdered and robbed Ms Robson and set fire to her Bellevue Park home in Belfast on December 29th, 1994.
He said Ms Robson was "mercilessly" beaten on the head and face, before being stabbed five times, once in the heart. She and her bed were then doused with methylated spirits and set on fire.
Mr Appleton said the men were released after being arrested within days of the murder but were arrested again when forensic tests on their footwear and clothing uncovered traces of Ms Robson's blood.
Mr Appleton said they initially denied any involvement but later, in taped confessions, each man blamed the other for the murder, claiming he was ransacking the house looking for money while his partner carried out the stabbing.
Three months later Mr Wilson told police he was outside the house holding Mr King's coat while he did everything, claiming he had admitted the burglary because he owed Mr King a favour. "There can be no doubt that one or both of the defendants inflicted the stab wounds and other injuries on Bessie Robson," Mr Appleton said. The trial continues today.