A chilling image stands out among a series of photos posted online by Phoenix Spencer-Horn with the man she believed to be her ‘soulmate’.
It shows Ewan Methven gripping his hand around Phoenix’s throat while apparently poised to bite into her face as she prepares to kiss him.
The photo was taken at the couple’s one-bedroom flat which they had recently moved into to start their life together.
Tragically it would become the scene of unimaginable horror when the twisted killer brutally murdered Phoenix.
He would go on to sever her head and attempt to dismember her body.
Phoenix, 21, died after she was throttled then was stabbed 20 times.
Within 48 hours of beheading his girlfriend and before contacting the authorities, Methven sent messages to Phoenix’s mother pretending her daughter was alive. All the while, he visited hardcore pornography websites over 170 times.
Admitting the gruesome murder in court last week, the postman claimed he had a drug-induced blackout.
Ewan Methven (right) brutally murdered Phoenix Spencer-Horn (left) at her home in November
Phoenix was just 21 when she was murdered by her partner (right)
Methven grips his hand around Phoenix’s throat in the one-bedroom flat that would become the scene of unimaginable horror
Methven brutally murdered Phoenix, severed her head and attempt to dismember her body
The 27-year-old postman admitted the gruesome murder in court
During this time, Methven, 27, chose to stay in the same apartment where Phoenix’s body lay, delaying the discovery of the murder and trying to escape the consequences of his actions.
When Phoenix’s mother Alison Spencer attempted to contact her, he pretended she was still alive – using her phone to send reassuring text messages.
Minutes after sending one message he was accessing porn videos while attempting to buy drugs.
Details of Methven’s disturbing actions came to light during his court appearance at the High Court in Glasgow, where he confessed to the murder and trying to avoid getting caught.
Phoenix, who was affectionately known as Phe, was a popular cafe and hotel worker from Strathaven – a market town in South Lanarkshire around 16 miles south-east of Glasgow.
Her murder sent shockwaves through the local community and left friends and family devastated.
Phoenix died after she was throttled before being stabbed 20 times
Earlier this year heartbroken Alison shared how the family had been left ‘shattered’ and they would remain ‘broken forever’ over their loss.
In January she said on social media the family had celebrated Phoenix’s landmark 21st birthday without her.
She wrote: ‘So today marks nine weeks or 63 days.
‘The last couple of months have undoubtedly been the worst we have ever gone through in our lives, having to accept that our fantastic, wholesome, stunning daughter has gone from the world and won’t ever be coming back.
‘Sixty-three days ago our hearts were shattered and broken forever, life will never be the same without our Phe.’
Her heartfelt message continued: ‘Over the last nine weeks we have had to come to terms that we will never cuddle, kiss, laugh with her again and never get served one of her brilliant barista coffees with the perfect latte art which always made you feel special due to how much love and precision she put into making them.’
Describing the ‘send off’ the family had given to her daughter who she called ‘my darling angel’ she said: ‘Ten days ago we gave her the 21st birthday party she never had.
‘I called it ‘Phe’s 21st After Party’ and what a party it was, the best send-off Phe deserved and we rocked it for her.’
In her tribute Alison spoke of her daughter’s ‘stunning smile’ that ‘people who were lucky enough to have met Phe were left with after encountering her amazing energy and radiance’.
She added: ‘We now only have the photos and videos to be blessed with her stunning smile.’
Phoenix had posted her own photographic montage on TikTok telling the story of her relationship with Methven around seven months into their relationship in June 2023.
She excitedly wrote about spending the rest of her life with Methven under the heading: ‘Home is wherever I’m with you’.
Phoenix went on to write: ‘The story of us in pictures.
‘Life’s purpose is finding your soulmate. Life is so much more beautiful and full of colour with you.
A police probe was launched after the body of Phoenix Spencer-Horn was found in a flat in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, in November
Officers discovered ‘Phoenix’s naked and mutilated body with her head decapitated’
Methven remained in the flat alongside Phoenix’s body for two daysÂ
‘Me and you always. This is only the beginning of our forever.’
Images show the couple kissing at Glasgow Central Station, eating out at restaurants and carving ‘P&E always’ onto a wooden loch side pier.
Commenting in the replies, tattooed Methven said: ‘I love you so much, ur (sic) my one and only.’
Yet, with hindsight, the image that stands out is the one of Methven with a demented look on his face as he grips Phoenix by the neck.
While the pose may have been made as a joke, newly unearthed Facebook messages show a chilling side of Methven who harboured a dark fascination with strangulation and death.
Writing in 2013, then aged just 14, Methven said in one message: ‘You’ve always got that one person you choke to smash f**k out of.’
Other disturbing remarks around that time included ‘It’s kill or be killed’ and ‘I always get all tingly when angry and it makes me agitated.’
The posts were made on a now-deleted Facebook account on which Methven listed his occupation as ‘Local Drug Dealer & Occasional Pornstar’.
Referring to an unidentified female, Methven told how he wanted to ‘kick her big horrible f***in teeth oot’ in a vile post dating back to December 2015.
He also raged: ‘F**k peace everybody’s gony die’ while in a reply to a friend, he said: ‘I wantae kill the f**k out of you’.
In another post he hailed hard drugs as ‘the bomb’
Locals said Methven was popular but also a ‘screwball’ who looked ‘dead behind the eyes’ and had the capability to be a ‘horrible b*****d’
At the High Court on Tuesday he was described by his own lawyer as ‘the personification of evil’.
The couple had started dating two years before the killing, having met at a party and had recently moved into their top-floor flat in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire.
Phoenix held part-time jobs at both the Strathaven Hotel and a local coffee shop and was described as being in ‘good spirits’ while working on Saturday, November 16 last year.
During her shift Methven texted her complaining of feeling ‘lonely’ due to her working hours. Phoenix apologised to her boyfriend.
Methven, who was employed by the Royal Mail, had also been working that morning and told a colleague at the end of his shift that he was going home to ‘chill’.
He ordered a takeaway that night and the couple ate when Phoenix got back.
She contacted her mother at 9.37pm stating she was at home having dinner.
It was the last communication they would ever have.
It was around midnight that a downstairs neighbour reported hearing a ‘loud noise and hurried footsteps’.
Prosecutor Chris McKenna said: ‘This coincided with increased activity recorded in an app measuring steps at 12.13am which was discovered upon later interrogation of Methven’s phone.
 Methven text Phoenix’s mother to make her believe her daughter was alive and well after he had killed and decapitated her
Methven (left) claimed he had had a drug-induced blackout after admitting the murder
The couple had started dating two years before the killing after meeting at a party
‘At that time, around or shortly after midnight on November 16 through to November 17, Methven attacked Phoenix by compressing her neck and repeatedly stabbing her to the head and body.’
In the aftermath he repeatedly arranged to buy drugs via a contact on his phone.
The court heard Alison tried to contact Phoenix on the morning of November 17.
Methven instead got in touch initially claiming ‘Phe is not up yet’ and that he would get her to message when she was.
He later pretended to be Phoenix using her phone to send Alison a text message saying: ‘Hey sorry I’ve just woken up xxx’.
He went on to add: ‘All good.’
Minutes after sending the text he was logging on to porn sites.
Mr McKenna: ‘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.
‘He was noted to have accessed a pornographic video site 170 times.’
Methven was also captured on CCTV driving Phoenix’s red Vauxhall Corsa.
Concerns were raised when Phoenix did not turn up for work on November 18.
It was later that afternoon that Methven dialled 999 stating he had had ‘a drug-induced psychotic break’ and that he had killed his girlfriend.
He told the operator she remained in the hall with a knife beside her and said he had been taking steroids and cocaine which he believed had been spiked.
Methven claimed he had ‘totally blacked out through the full thing’ but mentioned having ‘stabbed’ and ‘choked’ her adding: ‘It was f****** horrible.’
When asked if she could still be alive, he replied: ‘I know she is dead, mate – she is dead.’
He went on to tell the operator: ‘The past day I have been trying to, kind of, muster up the courage to phone.’
But nothing could prepare officers who arrived at the flat, and have reportedly since received counselling, for the gruesome scenes that confronted them.
Mr McKenna told the court: ‘Phoenix’s naked and mutilated body with her head decapitated was discovered by police covered up within the hall of their home.
‘An attempt had also been made by him to sever her torso, right wrist and ankle from her body.
Phoenix was fatally stabbed to the chest, there were other wounds in that area as well as to the face and buttocks
‘There were two bloodstained knives lying next to the mutilated body. A further bloodstained knife was found discarded in the bedroom.’
Mr McKenna said Phoenix’s head had been placed upright next to her body under her left arm.
Methven was described as being ‘calm’ at the scene and his comments appeared to show his main concerns were the impact Phoenix’s brutal murder would have on his life.
Among the remarks Methven made on his arrest were: ‘I could not stay here with her like that. I tried to dismember her. I moved her from the bath and put her there.’
And after he was put in a police cell, he said: ‘I guess this is what my next 25 years look like.’
The full extent of Phoenix’s injuries were revealed at the hearing.
She had suffered a total of 20 stab wounds – the fatal one to the chest. There were others in that area as well as to the face and buttocks.
His KC Tony Graham said: ‘Those related to Phoenix and those who are friends are likely to regard Ewan Methven as the personification of evil.
‘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.’
Judge Lord Matthews said Methven had pleaded guilty to ‘an appalling and horrible crime’.
He is due to be sentenced on 14 July.
