At the High Court in Glasgow, 41-year-old former soldier John Haugen pleaded guilty to killing mother-of-one Grace Kissell in the home he rented from her at Cowal Drive, Linwood, on May 14.

Haugen knifed her in what judge Lady Rae described as “a horrific and frenzied attack “ over £2,000 he claimed she owed him.

Advocate depute Paul Brown, prosecuting, said that Grace, 32, of Avon Drive, Linwood, had sub-let the flat to Haugen without the landlord’s consent.

The court was told that a dispute arose about money. Haugen had also told his sister Linsay Anne he was annoyed that Grace would not sign the tenancy over to him.

On the morning of May 14 he sent a text giving his bank details and saying he was not accepting her method of payment.

He also said: “U taking the p**s Grace? “ In a later text message he told her: “I don’t think so Grace, ure p***ing me off now,” and added: “I can be nasty too Grace, don’t want to be, I just want what I’m owed and thats it.” After 1pm on May 14, Grace, who ran a childminding and after school care business, drove to see Haugen, who had been living in her tenancy at 10K Cowal Drive for almost two years.

Minutes afterwards she texted a friend Donna Wallace saying: “My pal just pure kicked off at me.” When Ms Wallace phoned Grace 10 minutes later she said Haugen had grabbed her by the throat and threatened to batter her and slit her throat. But, Grace ended the conversation saying they were sorting it out.

The court heard that minutes after that call Haugen snapped and repeatedly stabbed Grace, leaving her lying dead in a pool of blood in his living room with the knife still embedded in her body.

Just before 2pm Haugen, a service delivery driver at Glasgow Airport who served as a soldier in Northern Ireland and Iraq, phoned his father Brian Haugen, 63, and told him : “I think I’ve just killed somebody.” Haugen then phoned his sister Linsay Anne Haugen, 38, and told her: “She came round. She started causing trouble and I asked her to leave, but she wouldn’t go. She kicked off. I then picked up the first thing that came to hand, which happened to be a kitchen knife. I’ve stabbed her.” The court heard that Haugen then dialled 999 and stated: “A’ve just committed a murder.” Mr Brown said that a post mortem examination revealed that some of the stab wounds would have required considerable force. One sliced through her heart and another to the stomach caused damage to a major vein.

The court heard that in June 2013 Grace entered into a tenancy agreement for the two-bedroom flat in Cowal Drive with Sanctuary Housing Association.

Mr Brown added: “From around January 2014 the accused began living there without the knowledge of the landlord. Miss Kissell did not live there. It is not entirely clear what the arrangement was between them, but it can be seen from messages between them., financial transactions and comments from witnesses that an agreement had been reached whereby the accused would make payments towards rent and council tax in exchange for being permitted to live there.” Haugen is facing a life sentence for Grace’s murder. Lady Rae deferred sentence until later this month for background reports before determining how long he spends behind bars before being eligible to apply for parole.

She told Haugen: “This was a horrific and frenzied attack. It was also a very brutal attack.” Solicitor advocate Murray Macara QC, defending, will give his plea in mitigation when the case next calls.