Cabbie told pals he was going to shoot his wife hours before couple's bodies were found in home
Mar 18 2010
A jilted husband told pals at work he was going home to shoot his wife, then blasted her to death with a shotgun just hours later.
Taxi driver Jim Harley, 51, then turned the gun on himself.
Friends of Harley said his wife Diane had told him at Christmas that their marriage was over but he had refused to leave the family home near Glasgow.
And they believe the dad-of-two snapped after spending the next three stressful months under the same roof as the 47-year-old teacher.
One of the killer cabbie's horrified friends told the Record: "Jim said he'd had enough of his wife and was going home to shoot her. We thought it was banter - a joke.
"We knew he had a gun licence but we never thought for a minute he was serious.
"We couldn't believe it when we heard over the radio that he had shot her then killed himself."
The pal added: "Jim had been going through a tough time since his wife told him at Christmas that she didn't love him any more and wanted him out of her life.
"She told him to move out but he refused and they've spent the past three months under the same roof.
"Since then, he has been a changed man, really depressed and quiet. He said she had ruined his life.
"He just went to work and went home, that was it.
"Jim was a gentle giant of a guy. He used to be happy-go-lucky and loved a carry-on but his marriage split sucked the life out of him. He was devastated."
Harley killed Diane on Tuesday night at their house in Bishopbriggs.
His friend said: "He said at work on Tuesday that his wife had offered him £30,000 - his share of the house - to move out but he wasn't having it.
"He said it was his house and his family too.
"He must have just snapped and gone home and did what he said he was going to do. We just can't take it in."
Harley and Diane, who had been married for 16 years, had agreed to discuss their finances at the house on the night of the killing.
The cabbie knew his children, Fraser, 16, and Jillian, 14, would be at his mother-inlaw's house 50 yards away that evening. The kids regularly went to their gran's for tea on Tuesday nights.
Harley went home, took his double-barrelled shotgun from the locked cabinet where it was kept, and waited for Diane to return from her job at Meadowburn Primary School in Bishopbriggs.
Later, Diane's mum Fiona phoned the house and asked Harley if he wanted her to send the children home. But by then, Diane was already dead.
Harley told Fiona not to send the kids but to send the police instead.
Then he shot himself. Police found him lying beside Diane's body.
A friend of the couple said: "It's such a tragedy.
"Diane sat Jim down months ago to tell him the marriage was over. She just felt the bubble had burst.
"I don't think he handled the news very well. He was an old-fashioned kind of guy and couldn't deal with the break-up.
"But she said he'd asked her to discuss their finances that night. Tuesday was convenient because the kids always went round to their gran's for tea that night."
Forensics officers were working at the death house yesterday while detectives carried out door-to-door inquiries.
Officers in white forensic suits took away evidence in plastic bags and a package shaped like a firearm was removed from the house.
Shocked locals handed bunches of flowers to uniformed police, who laid the bouquets on the doorstep.
Staff at Meadowburn Primary broke the news of the tragedy to Diane's pupils.
A spokesman for the school said: "Our thoughts are with Mrs Harley's family at this difficult time."
Diane's brother James O'Donnell, 50, was told his sister was dead after flying from Glasgow to London.
Cabin crew on the aircraft called out his name and he was taken off separately after the flight landed at Gatwick.
Police at the airport gave James the news. He immediately returned to Scotland to comfort Fiona and his dad Ian.
James was visibly distraught last night. He said the family were too distressed to speak, and added: "We just don't know what to say."
Neighbours of Harley and Diane in St Andrews Avenue, Bishopbriggs, told how police swarmed into the street after the tragedy.
Armed officers rushed to respond after the alarm was raised at 7.45pm and residents heard a police helicopter overhead.
One neighbour, Bill Kerr, 56, said the Harleys were "very much a family".
He added: "They have been here for 15 years or more. Both their children are still at school. They were very nice.
"I found out when I came home last night that something had happened. It's a big shock, as it's a close-knit community here."
Another local resident, a 73-year-old, descr ibed the Harleys as "a lovely couple".
"I am really shocked," he added. "I have never known any hassle around here. It's very quiet.
"I counted seven police officers plus three forensic people. An ambulance came around 3am this morning.
"I didn't see him around that much but he was a taxi driver. He didn't talk much in the street but they were a very nice couple."
As well as her teaching job, Diane was head coach for the Glasgow Baseball Association and was involved in getting funding for the club.
She and her husband were both keen football fans who regularly followed Scotland.
The Harleys had both worked for stewarding company Rock Steady. A spokesman for G4S Events, who took over the business in 2008, said: "Mr Harley left in 1995 but Mrs Harley continued to work for the company and was consequent ly employed by G4S.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Mr and Mrs Harley."
Police said: "At around 7.45pm on Tuesday, March 16, the bodies of a male and female were found within a property on St Andrews Avenue.
"A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal and post-mortems will be carried out to establish the exact cause of death."
Detective Inspector Stephen Grant, of Kirkintilloch CID, added: "We are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths of Mr and Mrs Harley. I would like to reassure the community that this incident poses no risk to anyone else."
Police refused to comment on whether Police refused to comment on whether Harley had a gun licence.
Source; DailyRecord.co.uk
Login
Register
FAQ
