An extraordinary 'confession' by a killer who thought he had got away with murder for 13 years which was recorded on CCTV has been released.

York killer David Roustoby told friends he had killed his neighbour David Clarke in 2017 by strangling him to death with a tie.

The conversation was recorded on CCTV at the friends' home in 2019 and was played during the trial.

The 45-year-old admitted to plying Mr Clarke with alcohol and prescribed medication and strangling his victim with a tie.

He then said he got his then girlfriend Sharon Roustoby, 50, to drive Mr Clarke’s lifeless body to Haxby where it was dumped in the river.

David Roustoby, of Rawcliffe Lane, Clifton, later claimed in his defence that this was a fantasy confession, concocted to impress his friends.

However, in the recording he revealed details only known at the time to police.

Roustoby was sentenced to life in prison at York Crown Court, sitting in Leeds, on Monday following a seven-day trial.

In the confession, Roustoby can be heard telling the friends he had killed Mr Clarke.

He added: "He came into my flat, I sat him down, plied him with drink, went up to his flat, got his ******* medication out of his drawer.

“Got a load of his drugs, crushed them all up, shoved them in his ******* drink, got him high as a kite, shoved a tie round his neck and strangled him.

“Shoved him in the car, took him up to Towthorpe, dumped him in the ******* river. That were it, job done."

On April 18, 2007, a retired doctor reported to police that he had found a fully clothed body floating face down in the River Foss while he was walking his dog.

The man was identified as then 43-year-old David Clarke, who lived four and a half miles away in York.

At the inquest back in 2007, the coroner ruled that Mr Clarke had died by drowning, with alcohol intoxication a contributing factor.

The court heard how Mr Clarke had an alcohol problem and suffered from depression.

The pathologist at the time concluded that the circumstances were consistent with drowning and found that Mr Clarke had been heavily intoxicated.

But the jury at York Crown Court this week was asked to consider the likelihood of a heavily intoxicated man walking four and a half miles from York to Haxby, a journey that would have taken over an hour on foot, before accidentally or deliberately drowning in the river.

Messages recovered from Mr Clarke’s SIM card confirmed that Roustoby was the last person to see him alive.

The court heard how Sharon Roustoby, from Rowntree Avenue, Clifton, had reported her car stolen to the police two days after the murder, and it was found burned out a short distance away.

They also heard how, some time before the murder, Mr Clarke had reported to the police that the defendant had threatened him with a gun.

On October 15, the jury took three hours to find David Roustoby guilty of the murder of David Clarke.

Claire Harris from the CPS said: “For 13 years David Roustoby believed he had literally got away with murder. When confronted with his CCTV confession, he claimed that he was trying to impress his friends; that it was all fantasy.

“This was a lie. After listening to the evidence at trial, the jury agreed with the case put before them by the CPS.

“David Clarke’s death was neither accident nor suicide.

“Roustoby had indeed plied Mr Clarke with alcohol and drugs; strangled him, and dumped his body in the Foss, exactly as he claimed in his confession.

“Justice has now been served and Roustoby is now serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 19 years.”