A man who stabbed his flatmate in the heart after claiming she refused to have sex with him has been jailed for a minimum of 17 years for her murder.

Gary Stevenson killed 25-year-old Katy Rourke at the flat they shared in Govan, Glasgow, in December last year.

The 27-year-old claimed he "totally lost control" and repeatedly punched Ms Rourke, originally from Broughty Ferry near Dundee, before getting a kitchen knife and stabbing her three times.

Stevenson admitted murdering Ms Rourke between December 29 and 30, last year, at the flat in Minto Street, Govan, Glasgow.

The High Court in Edinburgh was told how Stevenson said he was a "pressure cooker" who "cracked" and "deserves" his life sentence.

Stevenson made the admissions in a written statement which was read out in court moments before Judge Lady Rae gave him a minimum term of 17 years.

Donald Findlay QC read Stevenson's statement which said: "She did nothing wrong. She was a good intelligent person. She had her whole life in front of her and I robbed her of that.

"I cannot imagine the pain and suffering that I have caused. I cannot begin to imagine it.

"If I could go back and change things I would. If I could go back and give my own life I would.

"I was like a pressure cooker and the pressure had been building up for a long, long time.

"The wheels were coming off in so many areas of my personal life. I had been drinking in a stupid attempt to self medicate instead of seeking help.

"Katy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when I finally cracked. It was not her fault and I regret it every day.

"I'm not going to make any excuses. I have lost everything. I deserve every second of the long dark road which rises in front of me.

"I'm filled with regret every day. I wish I could wake up and know everything is okay. But it's not a dream.

"It's a wide awake living nightmare."

Jailing him for life at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, judge Lady Rae said he should reflect on having "needlessly and brutally" taken Ms Rourke's life.

She said "You should reflect on the fact that you have needlessly and brutally destroyed a young life and from my reading of the victim impact statements from Miss Rourke's parents and her sisters, you have devastated her family.

"You killed Miss Rourke because she rejected your sexual advances and because she refused to engage in sexual intercourse.

"You were simply on this occasion not prepared to take 'no' for an answer and you deliberately killed her."

After barricading the front door with furniture he left the flat with Ms Rourke's dead body inside by shimmying down a drainpipe.

Ms Rourke's body was discovered by police when her friends raised the alarm after she failed to turn up for work.

Officers found her body in the bedroom with a large kitchen knife lying nearby.

The court heard Stevenson bought a knife, alcohol and painkillers and then went to North Berwick and at 3.03am phoned an ambulance saying he had slashed his wrists.

Stevenson was taken at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh and while there police received information he was suspected of murdering Ms Rourke.

Lady Rae added: "Gary Stevenson you have pleaded guilty to the murder of a young woman by repeatedly stabbing her.

"The reason you have given for having done so is her rejection of her sexual advances. You did not accept that decision and as a result you started to assault her.

"When she tried to fight back and shout for help you struck her to quieten her, then took the time to go into the kitchen to retrieve a knife which you used to kill her.

"Although you have admitted your crime from the outset and you have pleaded guilty at an early stage thus avoiding a trial, it is the view of the social worker who carried out the criminal justice social work report for this court that you do not truly accept responsibility in the sense that you blame your alcohol intake then fact that deceased rejected you.

"Neither of these reasons is an excuse for, nor are those reasons mitigatory of your actions."