THIS is the cowardly thug who stabbed a footie starlet to death before killing himself to dodge justice.
Sean McClelland, 37, took his own life after murdering Josh Taplin, 28, and throttling a 41-year-old woman with a ligature.
SuppliedSean McClelland killed himself before facing justice[/caption]
Josh Taplin was stabbed to death at his home
John KirkbyPolice at Josh’s home last week[/caption]
John KirkbyMcClelland fell from a window in Killearn Street, Possilpark[/caption]
It’s feared Josh died while trying to protect the female, a relative of his girlfriend’s, at their home in Knightswood, Glasgow a week past Monday.
As cops scoured the city, the dad-of-two plummeted from a flat in the city’s Possilpark district and died at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
The self-confessed booze and drugs addict, from Glasgow’s Springburn, had spent his entire adult life in and out of prison.
Police Scotland confirmed the murder probe into Josh’s death has been concluded and McClelland was their prime suspect.
A source said: “If he was still alive, he’d be facing life for murder.
“But he’s taken the coward’s way out.
“It’s likely Josh was protecting the female and he has ended up getting murdered because of his bravery.
“He died a hero.”
Gas engineer Josh – an ex-Hamilton Accies youth star – was stabbed to death in the rampage and the female victim was seen screaming in the street with a ligature around her neck.
He fled the scene and spent the next two days evading police before killing himself.
McClelland gave an interview in 2021 just days after being released from a sentence for assaulting a man as he tried to steal drink from an off-licence.
He said: “This is behaviour that comes out of me when I’m using drink or drugs to get to oblivion because that’s what I’m seeking.
“The sober me doesn’t behave like that and I feel empathy for anyone I’ve harmed and remorse for what I’ve done.
“But it’s impossible to explain to anyone who doesn’t suffer from addiction what a grip it can take on you.
Josh Taplin with girlfriend Toni Stewart
“I’m not proud of what I’ve done in the past but I know that the addiction I have is a part of me and it’s a battle every day to get on top of it.”
A pal of McClelland’s said it was impossible to have any sympathy for him – but they believed the shame of what he did drove him to take his own life.
The pal said: “Sean had a terrible childhood and ended up in and out of jail his whole life.
“When he was sober, he was great but the addiction demons never went away.
“The shame of what he did will have made him kill himself.
“But he should have faced the music rather than doing what he did.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “An investigation into the death of 28-year-old Josh Taplin and the assault of a 41-year-old woman in Glasgow has concluded.
“The incidents occurred on Monday, 5 May, 2025 when police were called to Caldwell Avenue, Glasgow.
“Police are also investigating the death of a 37-year-old man who fell from a window in Killearn Street on Wednesday, 7 May.
“The death is not believed to be suspicious.
“Officers had been looking for this man with a view to interviewing him in respect of the murder of Josh Taplin.”
The statement concluded: “Police are not looking for anyone else in respect of Josh’s death.”
We told how Josh previously won the United Schools Cup with team-mates at Chryston High in Lanarkshire. He was also a talented boxer.
An online fundraising page set up to help his family has already reached £30,000.
Josh’s girlfriend Toni Stewart, 23, shared a picture of the couple online, and wrote: “He was the best thing that ever happened to me.
I’ll love him till the day I die.”
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