Two men who murdered a man they blamed for supplying an ecstasy tablet that killed their teenage friend have been jailed for life.
Dean Melnyk, 20, and Andrew Brown, 23, were given minimum terms of 20 years for killing Kevin MacKay, 39, in Ecclefechan last August.
A court heard how they took the law into their own hands hours after the funeral of their friend Jamie Abba.
Lord Armstrong told the pair they had been convicted of a "brutal attack".
"Start Quote
End Quote Lord ArmstrongThis was an intensely violent attack. The only sentence for murder is life imprisonment"
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Melnyk and Brown believed that Mr MacKay had supplied the pill that killed 19-year-old Mr Abba, who was known as Jabba.
So the two men travelled from Lockerbie to Ecclefechan in Dumfries and Galloway and repeatedly stabbed him in a frenzied revenge attack last August.
Judge Lord Armstrong sentenced the two men to life imprisonment.
Passing sentence, he told Melnyk and Brown that they would both have to serve a minimum of 20 years before becoming eligible for parole.
He added: "You have been convicted of carrying out a brutal attack which resulted in the death of Kevin MacKay.
"This incident did not happen on the spur of the moment.
The court heard Melnyk and Brown blamed Mr MacKay for their friend's death "It was pre-meditated - you wrongly took justice into your own hands."
He said they had travelled to the south of Scotland village with bladed weapons to carry out the attack.
"The court has heard that your victim suffered 80 injuries which were inflicted on the vital organs of your victim," he said.
"The court has also heard evidence that without immediate medical attention, your victim could not have survived more than five to 10 minutes.
"This was an intensely violent attack. The only sentence for murder is life imprisonment."
Melnyk, of Lockerbie, and Brown, of Ecclefechan, were convicted of murder following proceedings at the High Court in Glasgow in April.
Life for revenge attack murder duo
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment