Serial mourner gatecrashes vigil to murdered student

David Craig was spotted hugging tearful mourners and standing just yards away from Karen’s heartbroken family and friends as they were being comforted

A serial mourner has been pictured gatecrashing a vigil for tragic student Karen Buckley - after also hijacking tributes to victims of the Clutha disaster and Glasgow bin lorry crash.

David Craig pushed his way to the front of hundreds of people in the city’s George Square on Friday night.

He was spotted hugging tearful mourners and standing just yards away from Karen’s heartbroken family and friends as they were being comforted.

Nurse Karen, 24, went missing after a night out in Glasgow and was found dead last week, reports the Daily Record.

Apparently revelling in her family’s grief on Friday, Craig, 27, from Paisley, even boasted he had cuddled her dad John and brother Kieran in a Facebook post headlined “RIP Karen Buckley”.

He wrote: “Just back from the candlelit vigil for that wee Irish lassie Karen. Pure sad.

"Met her dad and brother, gave them both a cuddle and told them Glasgow says God bless your family.

"Pure gutted for them. Good turnout. God bless the Buckley family.’

Craig was seen in the front row ahead of more than 300 people.

Pictures show him hovering as Karen’s family expressed their gratitude to those who had turned up in support.

He played to the crowd, consoling mourners and wrapping his arms around one Irish woman who had broken down in front of Karen’s parents.

But it’s not the first time he has wallowed in others’ grief.

The oddball – who was jailed for 14 months in 2012 after posting an image of then Celtic boss Neil Lennon with his body riddled with bullets – set up a Facebook tribute page in the wake of the police helicopter crash at the Clutha bar in Glasgow in November 2013.

Ten people died in the tragedy.

But the page was sold on to viral advertisers and abusive messages and spam adverts later appeared on the site, which Craig claimed was hacked.

There was also fury in December when Craig announced plans for a candle-lit memorial for the victims of the Glasgow bin lorry crash.

Six people died and 10 others were injured in the horror incident just before Christmas.

He was warned off when we exposed his sectarian past.

 

When approached by the Record last night and asked about his shameless show at Karen’s vigil, Craig said: “Do you think I wanted to stand at the front and make it about me?

"No chance. That’s ludicrous. I was standing and a wee woman, a stranger, burst out crying and I was upset myself.

"She was from Limerick and she held my hand the whole time.

“I wasn’t doing this for attention, I went to pay respect.

"I put flowers down. I put a candle down and wrote a kind message then I took a couple of steps back.

“I didn’t know Karen or any of her family but I seen them.

"I gave her father and brother a hug and said I’m sorry for your loss and basically said God bless your family during this difficult time.”

Craig – once ordered out of Belfast by the UDA – claimed: “I’m not a bigot or sectarian.

“I’ve done something in 2011 and it was stupid and I’ve apologised for it but why should I keep getting punished for it.

"I’m just trying to live my life.”