Teenager jailed for life for knife murder of John McNab in Leith while on bail
A 17-year-old has received a life sentence with a minimum of 17 years for stabbing John McNab to death in Edinburgh while on bail for a prior knife attack.
Life sentence for teenager who stabbed John McNab to death in Leith while on bail
A 17-year-old has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 17 years, for the unprovoked knife murder of John McNab, 22, on Great Junction Street in Leith on 2 September last year, bbc.com reports.
The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, had previously pleaded guilty to both the murder and a separate knife attack on a 16-year-old boy at Portobello Beach four months earlier — the offence for which he had been released on bail at the time he killed McNab.
Sentencing at the High Court in Dundee, Lord Harrower told the youth the "merciless attack" had taken the life of a young man with everything to live for, and that the loss had left "an incalculable void in the lives of his family and friends."
CCTV footage showed McNab begging for his life
CCTV footage shown during proceedings captured warehouse worker McNab pleading with his attacker: "Please, please don't. I haven't done anything." He attempted to flee but stumbled at a traffic island, fell to the ground and was stabbed four times. When friends reached him lying in the road, bleeding from a fatal wound to his abdomen, he told them: "Help me, help me, I'm dying."
On the night of the killing, some of McNab's friends had been involved in a brief altercation with the teenager, who was struck and slapped on the face. McNab himself had played no part in that incident. The youth nonetheless followed the group to a nearby flat, issued threats, and waited outside for more than two hours before targeting McNab as he left to get a taxi. Later that morning, the teenager sent threatening voice notes to one of McNab's friends: "Let that be a warning to all your pals if you ever touch me again."
Mother calls for change in knife laws
Lisa Petrie, McNab's mother, spoke to BBC Scotland News in an exclusive interview. Prosecutors had shown her the CCTV footage and a photograph of the hunting knife used in the attack, whose blade measured 20cm (8in). "It felt like it went through my heart, to see what killed your own child," she said. "But at the same time it gave me a fire in my belly where I thought, these things need to change."
Petrie, a care support worker, has since campaigned for stricter regulations on the sale of kitchen knives, arguing they should carry the same security packaging as bottles of spirits or be removed from shelves and placed behind counters. She has also called for tighter restrictions on the sale of knives such as the hunting blade used to kill her son. Selling such knives to under-18s is already prohibited by law, though Petrie said she has not been told how the teenager obtained the weapon.
She has further questioned why the killer was granted bail following the Portobello Beach slashing. "It's his first offence, and he's used a knife, so why was he just allowed to walk free?" she said, arguing he should have been placed in a secure unit.
Defence cites autism and PTSD diagnosis
For the defence, Mark Stewart KC said the teenager had acknowledged the harm and suffering his violence had caused to McNab's family and friends. Stewart noted his client had no previous convictions and had handed himself in after both attacks. Since the murder, the teenager has been diagnosed with autism and post-traumatic stress disorder, Stewart added.
He was detained without limit of time and will only be released if the Parole Board determines it is safe to do so.
Petrie, reflecting on the broader pattern of knife violence, said: "I've already lost my child. Let's not lose any more."
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)