A MAN who believed he had got away with murder for 13 years is today a convicted killer facing a life sentence.

The jury took three hours to reach their unanimous verdict of guilty against David Roustoby, 45.

The murderer from Rawcliffe Lane, York, will be sentenced on Monday at Leeds Crown Court when he will receive a mandatory life sentence.

The jury heard how he lured David Clarke, then 43, to his bedsit in Huntington Road on April 17, 2007.

He plied him with alcohol and crushed up diazepam, which Roustoby had taken from the victim’s cupboard in a bedsit in the same building, before strangling him with a tie.

Then, together with his ex-girlfriend Sharron Roustoby, now 50, of Rowntree Avenue, Clifton, he took the body to Towthorpe Bridge over the River Foss north of York and dumped it.

Mr Clarke was found the next morning by a retired doctor out walking his dog.

An inquest recorded an open verdict in 2008 after a police investigation.

But in 2019, Roustoby boasted about what he had done to two friends, who sent a recording of his confession to North Yorkshire Police and he was arrested.

His head slumped as the jury returned their verdict and he rested it on his hands in the dock until he was told to leave court.

He has been in prison on remand since his arrest earlier this year, as has Sharron Roustoby since her arrest.

She pleaded guilty to assisting an offender before the seven-day trial at Leeds Crown Court.

Both will appear before Mr Justice Goss on Monday for sentence.

He will decide how long Roustoby must serve before he can apply for parole.