A SELF confessed killer who had repeatedly phoned police to give himself up was yesterday jailed for life by Belfast Crown Court. Twenty four hours after stabbing Mr Robert McConnell 26 times, George Elliott (30), from Annadale Grove in south Belfast, pleaded with police to arrest him.
Mr Justice Higgins said that but for Elliott's calls "this crime probably would have remained unsolved". No one, he added, had seen, Elliott enter Mr McConnell's flat early on February 3rd last or seen him leave.
In recorded telephone calls to police over half an hour, Elliott was told that police were "extremely busy". He said no one had come to arrest him and that he could not get into his local RUC station to turn himself in.
He was eventually told to return to the station and "ring the bell". After sobering up he told police he'd gone to Mr McConnell's home because of an argument and that he had armed himself with a knife to give Mr McConnell a "bit of a fright".
For the defence, Mr Charles Adair QC, said Elliott felt "immensely sorry and ashamed" and this was borne out by his calls to police to confess and his guilty plea on the second day of his trial. Mr Adair added that while no excuse, Elliott had been extremely drunk at the time. "Elliott sober would not have carried out this offence," he said.
Mr Adair said Elliott's family were standing by him.