A man was today sentenced to life imprisonment for the “appalling” murder of a former bed and breakfast host and community champion.
Michael Joyce – who had been accused of holding his victim “in servitude” before his agonising death – was told by a judge he would need to serve at least 16 years before being considered for parole.
Joyce, 33, appeared for sentence at the High Court in Stirling after being found guilty in Edinburgh last month of a fatal attack that left Michael White, 61, with fractured ribs and internal injuries.
A jury heard that Joyce had regularly beaten Mr White, and had redirected funds from his bank account for at least a year.
Mr White, who also worked as a life coach, was said to have raised money for victims of natural disasters – helping thousands of people around the world with his campaigning.
Mr White, a widower who had suffered a stroke, was said to have “seemed to do almost everything” for Joyce and his partner Antonia Gunn.
Ms Gunn, 28, was acquitted of murder on a unanimous not proven verdict.
The prosecution said there had been “a degree of control over the affairs of Mr White” with his income being redirected to the accused.
Neighbours said Mr White would drive the couple around and bring shopping to their house in Kyle of Lochalsh.
Some witnesses said he was so thin they thought he had cancer.
Victim struggled to cope after death of wife
Jurors were shown distressing video footage of the half-naked, emaciated body of Mr White slumped in a shower.
Mr White’s son Joshua, 25, told how his parents had moved to the rural village from England to run a bed and breakfast business from the Old Bank House when he was aged seven.
But Mr White struggled to cope after the death of his wife, Sally. His son relocated to England, but would return to visit his father.
When he learned of his father’s death in April last year, Joshua travelled to Kyle of Lochalsh where he met Joyce, who said his father had nominated him as next of kin.
Joyce told him: “Obviously you are his son and that won’t be happening.”
Joshua said the B&B had been “destroyed” and looked like a “war zone”.
Ms Gunn said she had seen Joyce punch the older man in the stomach with a “strong amount of force” but was too afraid to raise the alarm.
She later heard Mr White making noises, as if he was in pain, from a bedroom in their home in Plock Road, Kyle, adding: “I had no idea how bad this was. This has happened before and he was OK.”
Ms Gunn said she too had been a victim of Joyce’s abuse, sustaining black eyes.
Her counsel, Tony Lenehan KC, asked her why she tolerated Joyce’s behaviour and she replied: “I loved him.”
Ms Gunn said she began a relationship with Joyce when she was 17, and went on to have four children with him, with the youngest born after she was remanded in custody awaiting trial for the murder.
Two forensic pathologists found Mr White had sustained three fresh fractures to his ribs along with signs of older rib fractures. He also suffered internal injuries including tears to his bowel and liver, he was emaciated, and peritonitis had set in.
They concluded the cause of Mr White’s death was complications of blunt force trauma of the trunk and heart disease.
Joyce and Ms Gunn had originally faced further charges, including one brought under human trafficking and exploitation legislation.
‘This was an appalling crime’
The Crown accused them of holding Mr White in servitude between May 2021 and April last year.
It was alleged they instructed him to transfer his money to them, pay for food shopping and drive them to appointments and to request money from family and friends for their benefit.
It was also alleged that they instructed him to enter legal proceedings for the sale of a guest house Mr White had owned with his late wife.
They were also accused of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of cushions, towels and a T-shirt worn by Mr White, deleting photographs, placing a marriage certificate and photographs of Mr White and his late wife around his body and pretending they found the body and he had taken his own life.
The Crown withdrew those charges during the trial.
Joyce did not give evidence.
Donald Findlay KC, for Joyce, said his client continued to deny that he was responsible for Mr White’s death but was “contrite” that a life had been lost.
Imposing the life term, Judge Lady Poole, told Joyce: “This was an appalling crime.”
She said Joyce had tried to cover up after the crime, his clothes had been changed, and items had been thrown into the sea.
She said Mr White had been described as “a kind and gentle man who put other people first” and who supported community causes but was also a “vulnerable, emaciated frail 61-year-old” with heart problems.
There was evidence that had medical attention been sought in time for him after he received his fatal injuries, he might have survived.
Joyce simply nodded as the sentence was pronounced, before being led away to the cells, handcuffed to a guard.
Detective Inspector Richard Baird, of Police Scotland described Joyce’s actions towards Michael White as “utterly abhorrent”.
DI Baird said: “Initially he attempted to present himself as a friend of Mr White, and it was only after a post-mortem that it became apparent he had in fact died as a result of injuries he had inflicted.”