Roofer Ricky Gelardo was last night beginning a 17-year jail term after he was found guilty of beating 62-year-old Alan Atkin to death in an unproked and sustained assault. Jim Entwistle reflects on the case which shocked the seaside resort of Scarborough.

AS the net closed in on him, Ricky Gelardo created a fabric of contrasting stories, spinning a new yarn every time the police provided him with a glimpse of the growing body of evidence they had compiled against him.

The 29-year-old left no loose end as he sought to create a credible reason as to why he would be present at Alan Atkin’s flat, but not involved in his murder.

He awoke to find Karen Stubbings, a friend of his mother, assaulting Mr Atkin, he claimed.

He could not restrain her, he claimed.

His handprint, daubed on the wall in Mr Atkin’s blood, was left when he had tried to help the man to his feet, he claimed.

He even contrived a tenuous motive for Miss Stubbings, and his sisters took to the stand to claim she had premeditated the attack.

He was fluent and slick, dressed in a suit, and came across as respectful as he addressed the prosecuting barrister as “mister”. He spoke calmly and without hesitation.

In contrast, the woman he had accused, Miss Stubbings, who had given him a place to live while he faced domestic abuse charges, cut a sad figure on the stand.

Suffering from chronic arthritis and battling an alcohol problem, Miss Stubbings admitted being present when Gelardo launched his attack on Mr Atkin, but said she was unable to stop him.

She seemed haunted by what she had seen, and uncomfortable when questioned about it.

The differences between the two in court turned out to be crucial.

Where Gelardo appeared almost rehearsed, Miss Stubbings appeared genuine.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Carey, the senior investigating officer from North Yorkshire Police, said this was because she was telling the painful truth – and the jury had picked up on it.

“Gelardo was too clever for his own good,” he said yesterday outside court. “Throughout the whole inquiry, he was responding to the evidence that was being presented to him.

“He had an answer for everything.

Karen Stubbings didn’t – she had been drunk and couldn’t remember.”

As the jury returned its verdict yesterday, having unpicked all the threads, Gelardo was led quietly away. A few of his family members shouted messages of support.

Mr Atkin’s family kept a dignified silence until the proceedings were over, and after a painful six months they could finally start to come to terms with their loss.