Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Killer’s sentence “not enough”
A daughter hits out as the thug who stabbed her father to death is given a minimum term of 17 years behind bars
The daughter of a Chapelhall man stabbed to death by his ex- partner’s secret lover has said the sentence handed down to her dad’s murderer is “not enough”.
John McKay, 46, has been jailed for at least the next 17 years for stabbing William Scott, 43, seven times – including a fatal blow to his stomach – at the victim’s Gibb Street flat last April after William discovered McKay was having an affair with the mother of five of William’s eight children, Lou Corcoran.
Having already had to listen to chilling and disturbing facts relating to her dad’s horrific injuries – which included a knife wound that penetrated his chin, tongue and throat – during the trial, Kerilyn Scott, 18, the secondeldest of William’s kids, was back in court with other members of William’s family for McKay’s sentencing on Friday.
Judge Lady Scott jailed McKay for life at the High Court in Edinburgh, fixing the punishment part of the sentence at 17 years, but Kerilyn told the Advertiser the prospect of McKay being only 60 when he gets out of prison was “very disappointing”.
The make- up artistry student said: “I don’t think a sentence of life with a fixed 17 years is enough.
“I was hoping he would be jailed for at least another 10 years. He might be out of prison when he’s just turned 60.
“He can still live a fair portion of his life when he gets out, while we have to live and deal with the fact he has taken our dad from us.
“The best thing I can say about this sentence is it’s better than nothing and the verdict brought some closure to our family. But no matter the punishment, nothing can ever bring my dad back.”
Kerilyn went on to describe how it felt to hear her dad’s brutal injuries described during the trial at the High Court in Glasgow: “It was very difficult listening to the facts of the case and what my dad went through.
“It shows how vicious McKay was.”
The High Court in Glasgow last month heard how William had chastised ex-partner Lou Corcoran after learning that she had been having a relationship with McKay.
When told of William’s comments, McKay stabbed the dad seven times and left him blood-soaked on his bathroom floor – where a young girl aged just seven found him dying.
Despite denying murder and claiming he had been provoked, McKay was found guilty and during his sentencing last week, Lady Scott told him: “You are a man of 46 years who has no history of violence.
“Your commission of this murder is out of character. It appears to be related to your depression at the time, for which you were Free Delivery receiving treatment, and a history of animosity with the deceased, in the context of your affair with the deceased’s partner being discovered.
“Whatever the background, you went to the deceased’s house when angry and demanded entry. You were seen aggressively banging on the windows and kicking the door to get in.
“Once the door was opened, you pushed the deceased inside and within the flat you stabbed him seven times – four times in the chest , one of these wounds severed a rib; a stab wound to the underside of the chin, which penetrated through the tongue to the back of the throat; a stab wound to the forearm and the fatal stab wound, causing death, was inflicted to the abdomen and had transfixed the liver.
“It appears you also gripped the deceased’s neck with such severe force as to break the thyroid cartilage inside on either side.
“In total 67 injuries were inflicted. This was a truly ferocious and murderous assault.”
Lady Scott then told McKay that she was obliged to impose a life sentence. Check on out Facebook