Watch John Paul confess to the murder at Hammersmith Police Station A man has been jailed for 19 years after walking into a police station and confessing to a murder more than 40 years ago. Porter and part-time barman Anthony Bird, 42, was found naked with his wrists bound in his flat in Kensington Gardens, west London, on June 6, 1980. His murder remained a mystery for 41 years, until John Paul, 61, confessed to police last year that he had “hit” him with a piece of wood. Paul, of Ladbroke Grove, Kensington, continued to deny murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter at his trial at the Old Bailey. It was argued that his confession to the killing was not reliable and that even if he was responsible, he did not intend to do Mr Bird any real serious harm. Anthony Bird was murdered in 1980 in Kensington Square Credit: Met Police Jurors deliberated for half a day before finding Paul guilty of murder last month. On Friday, Cheema-Grubb sentenced him to life in prison with a minimum term of 19 years. He said: “It was ruthless and motivated by a desire to take what wasn’t yours. “I have no doubt that this was a murder for profit. You decided it was a target you could exploit.” The court had heard how Paul walked into Hammersmith police station at 9.38am. on Wednesday May 5 last year and said he wanted to report a murder in 1980. The assassination took place in Kensington Square, west London, in 1980 Credit: PA Archive She went on to give more details, telling an officer: ‘He came up to me and just talked to me and told me to have sex with him. “He took me back to his place. I tied him up with string. I think the cord was black, not sure. I tied him with a string, his ankles, his hands, his hands, to the bed naked. “There was a piece of wood. I used the piece of wood to hit him.” The court heard that some years after Mr Bird’s death, Paul told doctors that the man had propositioned him for sex while he was out stealing something and that he had gone home with him. John Paul was sentenced to 19 years at the Old Bailey Credit: PA After Mr Bird failed to turn up for work at the Railway Tap pub, police were called to a one-bedroom flat while jurors heard. Officers used a sledgehammer to drill through the property and found it appeared to have been “ransacked”, Mr Price said. The investigation revealed that Paul’s fingerprints matched three prints taken from the original crime scene. The prosecutor told jurors: “The officers went into the bedroom. On the bed they found the lifeless body of Tony Bird. He was naked. He was lying on his side. His knees were together and his legs were crossed. “The black electric bend was tied tightly around his left wrist and around his left ankle. There was the mark of a cord around his right wrist. There were many marks and obvious bruises on his body.” The court was told that two planks of wood were found at the scene. Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Reeves said: “It’s not every day someone walks into a police station and confesses to a murder decades ago. He said officers may never know what prompted him to confess to the murder.’ “However, the outcome of this case in the years following his death has finally brought answers to Anthony Bird’s family,” added DCI Reeves. In a victim impact statement, Bird’s family said they were left “devastated, shocked and traumatized” by his death. “Unfortunately his brother passed away last year and therefore he was unable to take solace in the closure that the court case brought,” they said in a statement. Want a quick and special update on the biggest news? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out what you need to know…
