Exchange Chambers

Man found guilty in Anuj Bidve murder trial

Brian Cummings QC was instructed as leading counsel for the Prosecution in the trial of Kiaran Stapleton, who was convicted yesterday of the murder of Anuj Bidve.

Stapleton, 21, denied murder but had admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

He shot the 23-year-old student, who was doing postgraduate studies in micro-electronics at Lancaster University, in Salford on Boxing Day.

Mr Bidve had been walking with a group of friends early in the morning to the sales in Manchester when he was killed.

His parents Subhash and Yogini were in court to hear the jury return their verdict after 90 minutes of deliberations.

The court had heard he had no clear motive for killing Mr Bidve.

At his first appearance at magistrates court after the killing, he had given his name as "Psycho Stapleton".

Asked during the trial why he had shot a complete stranger, he answered: "I honestly don't know."

Both the prosecution and defence agreed Stapleton had a recognised medical condition - an anti-social personality disorder where he displayed callousness, impulsiveness, anger, lack of remorse and incapacity to experience guilt.

The jury rejected the defence's claim that he was suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning.

Det Ch Supt Mary Doyle, of Greater Manchester Police, said the murder was "completely random and without motive".

She added: "We have investigated all possibilities for the murder but we are no wiser. I have no idea what is going through his mind to be honest."

He will be sentenced on Friday.  Brian Cummings QC said the starting point for a murder using a firearm was 30 years in prison.