Man killed woman and attacked her son in row over stolen watch

A man killed a woman amid claims that her son had stolen his treasured watch.

Tony Grimes, 43, had been involved in an altercation with Patricia Irvine outside her home in Parkhead, Glasgow, on May 12, 2024.

Jurors heard Grimes had blamed the mum’s son for the watch going missing, sparking a series of threats and assaults by him.

Patricia, 53, ended up suffering an aneurysm following the incident and passed away two days later.

Grimes is now behind bars after he was convicted of culpable homicide this week following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

He will be sentenced next month.

The court heard how Grimes and Patricia’s son knew each other before he accused him of taking his watch, which had been a gift for Grimes’s first Father’s Day.

Despite denying that he had taken it, Grimes went on to target the man and his family.

There were threats, including on social media, and also his coming to their door.

In a police interview, Patricia’s son said he was left “frightened” and “intimidated”.

He claimed he was left too scared to walk the streets and would get a taxi most places.

He recalled one occasion in his own close where Grimes grabbed him and displayed “superhuman strength”.

He stated to the officers: “What a psycho. He was gnawing at my ears. He was like a Rottweiler.

“He was like ‘you better get the watch, you better get the cash out’.”

Grimes was also accused of throwing a coin at a taxi the man had been in.

Jurors went on to see CCTV footage of the Grimes then attacking the man in a local East End shop. Grimes pled guilty to this charge.

In court, the witness said: “He was trying to uppercut me. He was just threatening me, telling me not to go to the police, or I would get it basically.”

Recalling the night of the fatal incident, the man and his mum had been outside their home when they became aware of a drinks can being hurled at them and exploding.

Grimes was also said to have made a threat to “petrol bomb” the property.

The man went back inside to take his dog back into their flat.

It was soon after that that an altercation broke out between Grimes and Patricia, during which he ran at her. A woman known to Grimes was also there.

Patricia fell to the ground and hit her head. She died in Glasgow Royal Infirmary on May 14, 2024.

In cross-examination, Patricia’s son refuted a suggestion by Brian McCconnachie KC, defending, that it was he and his mum who sparked a confrontation that evening.

He also insisted Patricia did not punch Grimes.

The man, who told police he was a “die hard” Rangers supporter, further denied previously making sectarian remarks to Celtic fan Grimes, insisting it was the killer who was instead guilty of that.

After the verdict, it emerged Grimes, now of the city’s Tollcross, had a lengthy list of convictions, including for weapons, police assault, religiously aggravated breach of the peace and other violence.

Mr McConnachie moved for bail to be continued while also stating the case was “extremely tragic, but it is, in many respects, extraordinarily unusual”.

However, Lord Mulholland told Grimes: “You have been convicted of culpable homicide and, by a plea of guilty, of a horrific, unprovoked assault. I saw the footage.

“You have a criminal record that does you no favours. I am refusing you bail.”

The case was deferred until next month for reports.