The House of Blood killings remain one of the most disturbing multiple murders in Glasgow’s recent history.The scene of the ‘House of Blood’ in Glasgow’s Crosshill in 2004(Image: Daily Record)
The flat on Dixon Avenue looked like any other in Glasgow’s Crosshill district. Top floor, one bedroom and barely furnished.
But in October 2004, it would become the scene of one of the most frenzied and sadistic killing sprees in modern Scottish history.
Neighbours would later describe what they saw as something out of a horror film. The police gave it a name they rarely use publicly.
The House of Blood.
Inside, three men lay dead: stabbed, beaten, mutilated, scalded. One was beaten to death with a golf club. One had boiling water poured over him. Another’s head had been stamped on.
Victim Tony Coyle(Image: Daily Record)
Blood stained every surface, from the walls to the ceiling. Even hardened detectives were visibly shaken.
But the killers were not faceless strangers. The prime suspect was a woman known to police: Edith McAlinden. And the two who helped her? Her teenage son John and his friend Jamie Gray.
McAlinden, a 36-year-old thief, sex worker and homeless drifter, had been released from prison just weeks earlier, having served time for a violent attack on a former partner.She had nowhere to live and floated between the flats of acquaintances.
One of those was David Gillespie, a 42-year-old man who had offered her a place to stay.
But the relationship was volatile.On October 17, 2004, the pair had been drinking heavily. By the early hours, it turned violent. McAlinden flew into a rage, grabbed a knife and stabbed Gillespie repeatedly, striking a main artery in his leg. He bled to death on the living room floor.
Edith McAlinden(Image: Strathclyde Police/PA)
Realising the situation was spiraling, she phoned her 17-year-old son John for help. When he arrived at Dixon Avenue with 16-year-old Gray, they were met by chaos. Gillespie lay lifeless. But the horror was far from over.
Ian Mitchell, the 67-year-old landlord who owned the flat and lived in the same building, had seen the commotion. He offered to pay the boys’ taxi fare, not knowing what was waiting inside. Once they realised Mitchell might expose them, he was beaten with a belt, stabbed, then bludgeoned to death with a metal file and a wooden plank. His head injuries were catastrophic.
The final victim, 71-year-old Anthony Coyle, had locked himself in his room. He had lived at the flat for years and was known as quiet and kind. But hiding wasn’t enough.
John and Gray drilled through the door to reach him. They found Coyle cowering and helpless. Gray used a golf club to rain down blows until Coyle’s skull fractured. Every part of it was gratuitous, savage, remorseless.
After the carnage, blood-soaked McAlinden went to neighbour James Sweeney, screaming that her boyfriend was dead.
John McAlinden(Image: Strathclyde Police/PA)
Sweeney followed her to the flat and was confronted with a scene he’d never forget. The police were called. Officers found McAlinden wailing beside Gillespie’s body, shouting his name.
In the hours that followed, the pieces began to fall into place. All three were arrested. Edith admitted killing Gillespie. John confessed to killing Mitchell. Gray admitted to killing Coyle.
Their motives? Panic, drunken logic and a warped sense of loyalty. They had arrived to help McAlinden and, in doing so, destroyed three lives and their own.
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The investigation revealed how brutal the murders were. One victim had been hit more than 20 times. Another had a kettle of boiling water poured over his chest. There were attempts to clean the flat but it was pointless. There was too much blood, too much damage. It looked like a slaughterhouse.
When the case came to court, the details left the jury shaken. Prosecutors described the violence as “sustained and horrific.”
There had been no mercy, no restraint, just blind fury and impulsive brutality. All three defendants pled guilty to murder. The judge handed down life sentences. Edith was told she must serve a minimum of 13 years before parole could even be considered. John and Gray were given 12 years each.
The aftermath was as grim as the crime itself. Families of the victims had lost brothers, dad, uncles in the most appalling circumstances.
The Record’s reporting of the horror case(Image: Daily Record)
Mitchell’s relatives said he had only tried to help someone with nowhere to go. Coyle’s family called his death “unbearable.”
And Gillespie, for all his flaws, had not deserved to die alone on the floor of his own home.
In the years since, the case has retained its notoriety. It has been the subject of crime documentaries and online forums. Locals still refer to the flat as the House of Blood.
The building was eventually sold and refurbished, but the legacy lingers. For a time, it stood empty.
The randomness of the attack, the youth of the killers, the sheer force of violence all fed into public horror.
McAlinden remains behind bars. She has made little attempt to appeal or explain her actions.
Her son John was released in 2016 but was back in custody just two years later for breaching parole.
Gray was said to have struggled in prison, showing signs of trauma from what he’d seen and done.
But no amount of remorse can bring back the dead.
The House of Blood killings remain one of the most disturbing multiple murders in Glasgow’s recent history.
Jane Hamilton, award-winning former Daily Record crime reporter, is the co-author of My Mother’s Murder, available now from Amazon, Waterstones and all good bookshops.