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WARNING: This article contains details some readers may find distressing
A postman who brutally murdered his girlfriend, stabbing her up to 20 times before beheading her and trying to cover up his crime, accessed porn while she lay dead.
Ewan Methven, 27, murdered Phoenix Spencer-Horn, 21, at their home in East Kilbride in Scotland in November 2024.
- Ewan Methven murdered and beheaded his girlfriend Phoenix Spencer-Horn, stabbing her 20 times before attempting to dismember her body.
- Methven accessed hardcore porn about 170 times over several hours while Phoenix's dead body lay in their home.
- He pretended to be Phoenix in texts to her mother to cover up the crime before confessing to police two days later.
The pair had been dating for around two years after meeting at a party.
Phoenix Spencer-Horn was murdered by her partner of two years, Ewan Methven
Image credits: Police Scotland
After choking her and stabbing her 20 times, Methven beheaded her and tried to sever her torso, right wrist, and ankle from her body.
Methven also contacted Phoenix’s mom after her death and pretended to be her in an attempt to cover his tracks.
In one text from her phone on November 17, he told Phoenix’s mom: “’Hey sorry I’ve just woken up xxx,” adding, “All Good.”
Two days after the killing, he called police to confess to her murder.
On the line with the emergency operator, he claimed to have been in “a drug-induced psychotic break” and said he had been trying to build up the “courage” to phone police.
Image credits: Police Scotland
The Daily Mailhas now reported that Methven accessed hardcore porn sites around 170 times while his girlfriend lay in their home dead.
In one instance, he accessed porn just minutes after texting Phoenix’s mom and pretending to be her, while also attempting to buy drugs at the same time.
He has now been convicted of Phoenix’s death at the High Court in Glasgow and will be sentenced on July 14.
“Throughout the day on November 17, analysis of his phone and search history revealed that, for a prolonged period over several hours, he accessed pornography from 8.12am through to 6.39pm,” Prosecutor Chris McKenna said.
“He was noted to have accessed a pornographic video site 170 times.”
“Phoenix’s naked and mutilated body with her head decapitated was discovered by police covered up within the hall of their home,” McKenna told the court.
“An attempt had also been made by him to sever her torso, right wrist and ankle from her body.
“There were two bloodstained knives lying next to the mutilated body. A further bloodstained knife was found discarded in the bedroom.”
Methven reportedly told arresting officers that he couldn’t stay in the apartment “with her like that” and that he had moved her body from the bath.
Methven will be sentenced for his crimes in July
He had placed Phoenix’s head under her left arm, sitting upright, McKenna said. Phoenix suffered a total of 20 stab wounds to her chest, face, and buttocks.
The court heard that Phoenix had been in good spirits the day before her death, and how Methven complained to her about being lonely while she was at work.
She returned home and the couple had takeout for dinner, before neighbors reported hearing a disturbance around midnight.
Methven’s lawyer, Tony Graham, told the court that his client knew Phoenix’s loved ones would never be able to forgive him.
“Those related to Phoenix and those who are friends are likely to regard Ewan Methven as the personification of evil,” he said.
Image credits: Glasgow Women’s Aid
“While of little moment, he wishes to express publicly how truly sorry he is for the death. He recognises the relatives and friends will never be able to forgive him. He will not be able to forgive himself.
“He understands the bereaved will seek an explanation, but he cannot provide an explanation.”
Phoenix’s family have since raised thousands for Women’s Aid services across Scotland in her memory.
“Her name, Phoenix, now stands for more than loss. It stands for action. For change. For refusing to let her story end in silence,” Glasgow Women’s Aid said in a statement.
“This is what it means to rise from the ashes. To take this devastating crime and use it to protect others.
“Phoenix should still be here. But her legacy is one that’s lifting others up, and that matters. Turning pain into action. Refusing to let her name be forgotten.”
International domestic abuse hotlines for those who need help can be accessed here and here.
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