A "callous" son who murdered his wealthy father before draining his bank accounts during a lavish spending spree was jailed for life today.
Debt-ridden television executive Benjamin Holding, 29, killed 70-year-old Michael Holding by repeatedly bashing his head against the floor at their home near Banchory, Aberdeenshire.
The executive was told he would spend at least 15 years behind b
ars for the crime.
Holding, a business development officer with STV at the time, dumped his father's body head-first in a wheelie bin in the garden shed, where it lay unnoticed for nearly two months.
Less than 90 minutes after the killing on October 13 last year, Holding began to claim his "rightful inheritance" by spending his victim's money.
Police said he eventually splashed out more than £30,000 – including £17,000 on a top-of-the-range car – during the seven-week spree.
The "plausible" killer then tricked the rest of the family into
believing his father had gone on holiday and ignored the first anniversary of his wife's death.
Last month Holding admitted murder, fraud charges and attempting to defeat the ends of justice by hiding the body and destroying evidence. At the High Court in Edinburgh today he was told he must spend at least 15 years behind bars before being eligible for parole.
Passing sentence, temporary judge Roger Craik QC branded the killing and Holding's subsequent behaviour "grave and callous".
He said: "The shock and distress that you have caused your friends and family must be considerable.
"You will have to live with that guilt."
The full article contains 272 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
