A MURDERER, due to be married in prison this summer, has been described as “irredeemably evil” by the stepfather of his victim.
And civil servant Martin Edmunds from Galashiels has pleaded with the bride-to-be of Kevin Gibson to reconsider her decision to tie the knot.
Mr Edmunds, 51, was reacting to the news that Gibson, 32, jailed for a minimum of 15 years in 2004 for the brutal murder of Timmy Wallace, has been given permission to wed 31-year-old Louise Kennedy from Kelso in Addiewell Prison, West Lothian.
The couple became engaged when Gibson, a heroin addict, was on remand after denying killing Mr Wallace, 24, cramming his body into a suitcase, weighing it down with bricks and dumping it into the Water of Leith in the summer of 2003.
The murder took place at a Leith hostel for the homeless which Mr Wallace, who had a flat in Gala Park, Galashiels, and suffered learning disabilities, occasionally used on his visits to the city.
Mr Edmunds said news of the impending nuptials, revealed in a tabloid newspaper on Monday, had evoked dreadful memories for Mr Wallace’s family.
“For four weeks in 2004 I sat through the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh and heard how Gibson had tortured Timmy over a number of days, punching him, stamping on his head, throwing boiling water over him and refusing to get medical assistance when Timmy was close to death,” Mr Edmunds told TheSouthern.
“He then dumped his body, which wasn’t pulled from the water for a fortnight, while fraudulently claiming Timmy’s benefits when he knew him to be dead.
“At the end of the harrowing trial, a litany of Gibson’s previous convictions for violence was revealed and he showed not a hint of remorse after being sentenced.
“His manipulative nature was evident throughout, sacking his legal team and then blaming them at an unsuccessful appeal against his conviction.
“It makes my blood run cold to think what Timmy, who was a harmless, loveable rogue and so vulnerable, suffered at the hands of this monster.”
Sentencing Gibson, trial judge Lord Dawson said: “No words of mine can adequately express the public revulsion for your behaviour towards him, your friend.
“All I can do is reflect that revulsion in the only severe sentence the law allows for the crime of murder.”
Mr Edmunds said it had been difficult for Timmy’s family to move on from the tragedy and that this week’s news has been “a shuddering reminder” of their loss.
“I actually have no problem with Gibson being allowed to marry as long as he is forced to serve his full sentence. My fear is that he is again being manipulative and believes being a married man will help him get early parole.”
However, he said he had contacted TheSouthern for fear that remarks attributed to Miss Kennedy could give the impression that Gibson was, indeed, innocent of the murder after she reportedly stated: “There was a lot more to the case than what was reported at the time and no-one takes that into account.”
“I don’t know this young lady and have nothing against her, but I believe she would be off her head to marry Gibson,” said Mr Edmunds.
“I sat through the whole trial and there were no mitigating circumstances. The man she is about to marry is irredeemably evil.”