On 16 October 2004, McAlinden, a convicted thief, prostitute, and homeless drifter, was released from prison, having served a nine-month sentence for a serious assault.
She visited a top-floor flat[2] on Dixon Avenue, in Crosshill, where her boyfriend David Gillespie, 42, lived with fellow tenant Anthony Coyle, 71, and landlord Ian Mitchell, 67, whom McAlinden referred as "Pops".
[3] When John realised Mitchell was a witness, he fatally stabbed him and kicked his head repeatedly, which caused his brain to bleed heavily.
Two hours later, at approximately 3:00, McAlinden went to neighbour James Sweeney's house and claimed something had happened at Ian Mitchell's flat.
During the trial, prosecutor Sean Murphy QC claimed[4] that the victims had been "beaten with knives, metal files, a belt, and pieces of wood" and "hit with a bottle, punched, stabbed and stamped on the head, and had boiling water poured over them".