Man guilty of salesman's murder

Gary Linn was murdered at Owen Anderson's home

A man has been jailed for life after being convicted of the "brutal" murder of tools salesman Gary Linn.

Owen Anderson, 30, from Stenhousemuir near Falkirk, was found guilty by a jury at the High Court in Glasgow.

Lord Emslie ordered him to serve 18 years in prison before being eligible to apply for parole.

Owen Anderson will serve at least 18 years

Father-of-three Mr Linn disappeared from his home in Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire, in August 2001.

His body was found eight months later at Braidwood Bridge in Midlothian.

His skull had been shattered by repeated hammer blows.

During the three-and-a-half week trial it emerged that Anderson - who owed Mr Linn money - had carried out the attack after inviting the salesman to his home.

The following day he wrapped Mr Linn's body in plastic bags, a duvet, a paddling pool and carpet and dumped it near Braidwood Bridge, Temple, Midlothian.

Lord Emslie told Anderson: "On the evidence this was a premeditated and brutal killing of a decent, hard working family man for gain, albeit all you got out of it was the pathetically small sum of £2,000.

Denied charges

"No-one will ever know the torment Gary Linn went through before he died.

"The agony for his family - his wife, children and parents - has been acute and made worse by your entirely dishonest attempts to disguise what you had done in denying the family the comfort of knowing where their loved one could be."

During the trial Anderson denied all the charges against him.

He claimed he had been involved in an "insurance job" against the salesman, which had gone wrong.

It was an act of desecration, trussing up the body in a carpet and launching it over the parapet of a bridge

Lord Emslie

He lodged a special defence claiming that another man, "Stevie" from Edinburgh, had carried out the killing.

However, the jury took less than three hours to find Anderson guilty of murder, as well as stealing a van, a quantity of tools, a CD player and £1,000.

He was also convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice by wrapping Mr Linn's body in a carpet and other items and painting a floor at his home.

"It was an act of desecration, trussing up the body in a carpet and launching it over the parapet of a bridge where it lay concealed for nearly nine months," said Lord Emslie.

Mr Linn's wife, Kathleen, and his mother, Irene, were among the family members in court on Tuesday as the verdict was announced.

Deferred sentence

Kathleen described the last 16 months as a "living nightmare" - and said Anderson should have been jailed for longer.

"How anyone can live with themselves after what Owen Anderson did to Gary I will never know," she said.

"It just goes to show what kind of animal he is and he should be treated as such."

Irene said: "It was a good result but he should have got more.

Gary Linn was killed in August 2001

"He is absolutely a monster - a total monster. I just don't believe that another man could do that to another human being."

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Moffat, from Central Scotland Police, said it had been a very complex investigation.

"While we are pleased with the result today, our thoughts must be with Gary's family, Kathleen and their three boys," he said.

Meanwhile, sentence has been deferred on two men who admitted resetting Mr Linn's tools after buying them from Anderson.

Lord Emslie warned Martin Birnie, 33, of Mayfield, Dalkeith, and Christopher Miller, 31, of Mossend, Gorebridge, that they faced jail sentences.