Brit fugitive jailed for knifing cousin to death after international manhunt

08 January 2024 , 16:26

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Billy Joe Bates died after being stabbed in the chest (Image: PA)

A man who stabbed his cousin to death has been jailed after he to fled to Europe in an attempt to evade justice.

Dean Ferguson, 30, fatally stabbed his childhood friend and second cousin Billy Joe Bates in the chest in Glasgow on November 18, 2018. He then escaped to the Netherlands, which sparked an international manhunt for the killer. He was eventually found and extradited back to Scotland in May 2022 - more than three years after the attack on 29-year-old Billy Joe, reports the Daily Record.

Ferguson was sentenced to six years and four months at the High Court in Glasgow after pleading guilty to culpable homicide. The court heard Ferguson was linked to the killing after police infiltrated messages on the EncroChat communication network, including one boasting how he had "f****d off" out of the country. Prosecutors said the messages connected Ferguson to the crime and identified him as the assailant.

At an earlier hearing, prosecutor John Keenan KC said there had been "no history of animosity" between the men and the exact details of the killing "cannot be determined". Ferguson was identified as a "potential suspect" when he ended up at Glasgow Royal Infirmary with a head injury around the same time as Billy Joe, who sustained a number of injuries including a fatal deep stab wound to the chest.

Detectives then began to trawl through CCTV to try and discover what happened. Footage showed Ferguson, the victim and another man going to a flat in the city's Maryhill early on November 18. Ferguson had been described as "angry and agitated" while there. The men all left - Billy Joe came back to collect his phone and told a witness that he had "fallen out" with Ferguson. The men all ended up at the flat in Milton where the killing occurred.

Double killer who slit girlfriend's throat within weeks of release jailed

Derek 'Deco' Ferguson was jailed for killing his cousin Billy Joe Bates (Derek 'Deco' Ferguson)

Mr Keenan stated neighbours recalled hearing "raised male voices". One said there was a "shout of pain or cry for help". The man with Ferguson and Billy Jo made a 999 call at 2.33pm. A woman went on to see an injured Billy Jo outside with a wound on his right side. He was taken to hospital, but the court heard he was "unable to state what had happened".

The stab wound was found to have punctured his right liver causing internal bleeding. He was treated over the next few days, but never recovered and died on November 22 2018. Billy Joe was found to have suffered stab wounds to the chest and upper right arm. While at the same hospital, Ferguson claimed his own injuries had occurred by falling on glass. He later discharged himself and, despite efforts to trace him, he was not found at that time.

A knife in the meantime was found at the flat and described as being "potentially responsible" for causing the fatal stab wound. there had also been "attempts at cleaning" the property. The French and Dutch law authorities later went on to smash the EncroChat phone network favoured by criminals. He was identified as the assailant after encrypted messages linked him to the case and he was extradited back to Scotland on May 4, 2022.

Ferguson's lawyer, Donald Findlay Findlay KC, gave an account at the earlier hearing of what was said to have occurred that day. Prosecutors stated they could "neither confirm or deny" what was put forward. Mr Findlay stated Billy Joe had been armed with a blade, there was a struggle and Ferguson got him to drop the weapon. It was claimed the victim then ended up leaving Ferguson bleeding by smacking a bottle over his head.

The killer was said to have picked up the knife as Billy Joe was "straddling" him but was "not aware of any contact" being made with the knife. Mr Findlay said: "Dean Ferguson accepts that there are other steps that he could have taken. The blow that he struck took a life."

Billy Joe died on November 22, 2018 - four days after he was stabbed (Daily Record)

Judge Lord Clark said: “You have expressed remorse for the tragic consequences of your actions. This was not premeditated - it was spontaneous in response to a fear of an assault. I have taken account of the victim impact statement from Mr Bates’ mother. She explained in her deeply moving words of the consequences this has had on the family. There is no sentence I can impose which will begin to relieve that grief.”

Moira Orr, who leads on homicide and major crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “Dean Ferguson failed in an attempt to evade Scottish justice. "He will now pay for his crimes by serving a lengthy period in prison after being convicted of a serious offence. This case shows that justice does not stop at the border, and we will robustly use every avenue across multiple jurisdictions to bring criminals to justice in Scotland.

"We regularly collaborate across jurisdictional boundaries as part of our commitment to protect society from harm.” Dean Ferguson is the son of Derek 'Deco' Ferguson who is still on Interpol’s most wanted list over two murders in 2007.

Kaitlin Easton