Baseball bat murderer Anthony Bull given life sentence
A man who beat his former flatmate to death with a baseball bat in Birmingham has been jailed for life.
Anthony Bull, 22, was told he must serve a minimum of 18 years after being found guilty of murder at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday.
He dumped the body of Steven Downes, also 22, in an alleyway next to the Cedar Tree Court flats in Erdington after killing him on 29 December.
Kyle Finn, 25, of no fixed address, was found not guilty of murder.
A post-mortem examination found Mr Downes had been hit on the head 25 times.
When detectives searched the scene of crime in Bull's flat in Cedar Tree Court, they found blood on the walls, floor and furniture, West Midlands Police said.
Bull's clothes were also stained with Mr Downes' blood, the force said.
Det Sgt Ranj Sangha said: "This was a vicious attack against a man that he knew.
"He had tried to blame the other man [Kyle Finn] for the murder but the scientific evidence coupled with his lies proved he had carried out the attack."
Mr Downes's mother Diana Downes said: "My world came crashing down on December 29 when I found out that my first-born son had been killed.
"I am happy that we have achieved justice for Steven."