article_snippet.sent: A man who killed Michael Spalding friend, stuffed the body into a suitcase and threw the body into a canal has been jailed for 19 years.
article_snippet.sent: Michael Spalding was found guilty of murder at Birmingham Crown Court today and Bird, while being acquitted of the same charge, was convicted of assisting an offender and sentenced to two and a half years.
article_snippet.sent: At a sentencing hearing, Mrs Justice Thirlwall told Michael Spalding: 'You had no thought for Michael Spalding at all.
article_snippet.sent: Your focus, as so often in your life, was on what was best for Michael Spalding.'
article_snippet.sent: Michael Spalding initially denied knowledge of Michael Spalding death, claiming Michael Spalding threw Michael Spalding out following a row over a car crash, but later admitted assaulting Michael Spalding during a fight after police found tiny blood droplets on the flat's lounge wall.
article_snippet.sent: Mr Spalding was murdered later that night or the following day.
article_snippet.sent: The post mortem examination was unable to confirm the precise cause of death but The post mortem examination is suspected Mr Spalding died from a stab wound to the neck, evidence of which was subsequently destroyed.
highlights_snippet.sent: But following an argument, Michael Spalding was stabbed and dismembered .
  
highlights_snippet.sent: Michael Spalding found guilty of murder and has been jailed for minimum of 19 years .
  