Man murdered frail dad, 78, when row over childhood turned violent
A MAN strangled his 78-yearold dad to death in a row over why he was dangled from a window at 15-months-old.
John Sharp, 48, throttled his frail dad, who walked with a zimmer, so violently that he shattered a bone in his neck and his Adam’s apple.
It took place at John Sharp senior’s home in Ann Street, Greenock, on January 9.
Judge Lady Stacey jailed Sharp for life with a minimum of 15 years behind bars.
She told him: “While I entirely accept you did not set out that night before going to his house to harm your father, I also know the jury did not accept your evidence.”
The judge agreed with defence QC Ian Duguid that the situation “is a tragedy for the whole family”.
In evidence Sharp claimed he acted in self-defence and told the jury his father attacked him.
He alleged he hit his dad in retaliation after becoming angry and then pushed him into a coffee table. The accused said he went over and tried to pick up his father, but he was a dead weight.
Sharp claimed the injuries to his father’s neck were caused when he lifted him in the choke hold.
Sharp told the jury at the High Court in Glasgow that he had his father rowed as they sat having a cup of tea.
He said: “I asked him why when I was 15-months-old he held me outside a window.”
Sharp also claimed: “He said I preferred my step-dad to him.” Let us know your views. Email letters@ eveningtimes.co.uk
But, the jury did not believe his story and convicted him of murdering his father.
Police raced to the scene after a concerned neighbour dialled 999 after hearing raised voices and a thud.
When they arrived Sharp told them to f*** off and had to be arrested after brandishing a knife.
Mr Sharp senior was found lying dead in the living room. A table was overturned and two legs had been broken off a coffee table.
His broken dentures were lying nearby.
The cause of death was compression of the neck and ischemic heart disease.
Spatters of Mr Sharp’s senior’s blood were found on his son’s clothes and his DNA was found under the accused’s fingernails.
Mr Duguid said Sharp’s family continue to support him.
The QC said Mr Sharp’s death is a situation his client “bitterly regrets” and added: “In a sense wishes he had never gone to his father’s house that night, he maintains he went with the best of intentions.”