Wednesday 19 November 2014

Friday March 6th 1964: Boxing Champ and Girl Found Stabbed in Back Court

Warning: This post contains a crime scene photograph.



Cornwall Street, Kinning Park


A well-known Scottish boxer and a girl were found stabbed to death in a backcourt at 35 Cornwall Street, Kinning Park, Glasgow, today. Beside them lay a blood-stained knife.



The man who died was 23 year old Andy Barrie, a docker and professional middle-weight boxer. The woman was Mrs Betty Duncan. The double tragedy was discovered by neighbours in the Cornwall Street tenement, one of whom, Mr Charles McLure of No.39 phoned police.

Mr McClure opened the window to see what was happening and heard a woman neighbour shouting for a pillow. He then saw the couple lying in the back court.

A crowd gathered in the street as police and an ambulance arrived at the close where a trail of blood led to the back court.

Thomas Milliken of Glasgow C.I.D told reporters: 'Inquiries are proceeding but we are not looking for any other person at the moment.'

Mrs Lena McGee whose ground floor flat looks out over the back court told reporters that she heard Mrs Duncan shouting, and on looking out saw Mrs Duncan lying in the back court with Mr Barrie standing nearby.




10 comments:

  1. I saw him stabbing her thought he was punching her but he had a knife in his hand, she slumped down against big Lambie school wall , he stepped back a few yards and plunged the knife into his chest twice,and lay yards from her, the worst thing is the big rough box the two bodies were put in together and blood stain lines that ran down like a river , still.
    sticks in my mind to this day

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    1. It for one minute you thought he was even punching her would it not been for you to at least help her your as bad as him to have not done anything to help her your a coward and I'm glad you are living with it ,that's if you are

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  2. When I was 15 I trained at Peter Keenan's gym in Grant st. It was a professional boxing gym although I was obviously an amateur. I received a stern warning from Andy Barrie about getting into fights out side the boxing ring then only days later I read about this in the paper.I was really taken aback and surprised when I read it. He just didn't seem to me the type of guy to do that but it seemed that she was his girlfriend and she was splitting up with him and he couldn't handle it. That was the story that I heard at the time but might not have been the case. Very sad whatever really happened.

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  3. I would like who has out this story on this website to reply to this message as I would be interested to know about more of this incident

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  4. Who's the blogger who put this story on this website please reply

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  5. I went out with Betty for a while in 1962. She had a little boy named Gordon, and they lived in Mair Street at that time. Betty was a nice girl and I was very fond of her, but I went away to sea and lost contact. RIP Betty.

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  6. Betty was my mum and Gordon was my younger brother,I was seven when my mum was murdered and I was brought up by my grandmother.I'm trying to find out anything about my mum,anyone who knew her,I have a lot of paper cuttings

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    1. Hi.when I met Betty, I was 18, and a seaman on a ship trading between Liverpool, Belfast and Glasgow. Betty was I think, 24. We met in the Black Cat coffee bar in Linthouse. She didn't go in bars, I don't think she drank, I was back in Glasgow every few days and we would meet up and go for a meal or the pictures, or just for a walk.
      She was very confident and pretty self reliant and she did not suffer fools gladly. Even after 60 years have vivid memories of her. She lived at 43 Mair st with Gordon, and we would often take him out with us for long walks, ending up in an Italian chip cafe in Govan Rd by the Chevalier pub. After a couple of months my company transferred me to a deep sea ship trading Liverpool to Japan, and although I wrote a few times, I got no reply. It was several years before I got back to Glasgow and heard about her tragic death. Betty was my first real girlfriend and I still remember her with affection.

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    2. I’m Helen I’m 66 now and didn’t know much about my mum Betty only what my grandmother told me most of my relatives are now gone so it’s nice to see your blog with a little information

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