Description
A callous and calculating killer who murdered three people in six days is facing life behind bars after being convicted of raping his final victim.
Anthony Russell murdered mother and son Julie and David Williams, 58 and 32, at their flats before raping and killing Nicole McGregor, 31, who was pregnant and had shown him a baby scan.
Despite knowing she was dead, he told Nicoles boyfriend: I bet you cant wait for it to be born.
The murders took place in Coventry in October 2020 and Nicoles body was found in Leamington Spa three days after her death.
After Russell was found guilty, police released footage of the moment he was found sleeping in a stolen car which he had been using as a hideout.
Russells murder spree began on October 21 when he strangled David with a lanyard.
Four days later he murdered Julie in a violent and sustained attack, hitting her repeatedly around the head and neck.
He inflicted over 113 injuries on her and is believed to have killed her because she knew he had murdered her son.
The following day, Davids body was discovered with 87 injuries Russell would later go on to say hed killed a man who had had sex with his girlfriend.
The deaths sparked one of the biggest ever manhunts in the West Midlands.
Detective Superintendent Shaun Edwards said: This was a violent series of killings which happened over a period of just seven days, but which have left two families devastated for the rest of their lives.
We believe that David was killed due to Russells mistaken belief that he was in a relationship with his girlfriend.
When Russell went to speak to Julie about her sons disappearance, we suspect that he confessed to Davids killing. He then killed Julie to stop her from speaking to the police.
Theres no known link between Russell and Nicole, and it appears to be pure chance that he has encountered her.
CCTV footage of Ms McGregor, who lived in a flat in Leamington, was played to the jury during the trial, showing her walking alongside Russell at 7.45pm on October 26.
During her opening speech, prosecutor Zoe Johnson QC said of the footage: This is the last time Nicole is seen alive.
Just three hours after meeting the defendant it appears that Nicole has agreed to walk with the defendant into Newbold Comyn.
We suggest that the defendant lured Nicole on to the Comyn, not for sex but more likely for drugs.
The defendant murdered Nicole McGregor shortly after that image was captured, just hours after they had met.
After the murder, he pretended to help Ms McGregors partner look for her.
The killer was eventually the subject of a national manhunt, and fled Leamington by robbing a 78-year-old man of his car.
Russell rung the pensioners doorbell asking for directions, and when the victim was distracted he hit him over the head from behind with a brick, leaving him with a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain.
The killer was arrested on October 30 after police spotted the stolen Ford C-Max parked on a road near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, and found Russell on the back seat.
While being booked into custody, he told officers: I admit it, I did it.
Russell, from Coventry, will be sentenced on Friday.