Donald Prentice Patience, 45, from Alness, was found dead at the bottom the stairs in his home after being strangled by his 'friend' Ian Connell.
A killer who left a Scots dad’s decomposing body wrapped in a duvet before taking his beloved dog has been jailed. Ian Connell was arrested after officers were called to the Bury home of Donald Prentice Patience on August 22 last year.
On Wednesday, he was jailed for a minimum of 19 years after “shamelessly” taking advantage of his victim for money to buy drugs. He found work carrying out statistical analysis for pensions but became unwell from the "high pressure job" and spent a short time in a Priory clinic. Ms Banks said "Prent" had a car accident in 2015 which left him temporarily unable to work and he "started to drink more" and eventually became "addicted to painkillers".
Giving evidence, Connell, from Bolton, said he had "never raised my hand to that man" and claimed he was asleep upstairs in a spare room and under the influence of heroin and crack cocaine when someone else strangled Mr Patience.