Jailed at last, killer who f led British justice
A MAN has been jailed for life for the murder of his former brother-in-law while on a trip home from Australia.
James McGowan, 58, was yesterday locked up for a minimum of 18 years for stabbing Owen Brannigan to death in 1999.
He knifed Mr Brannigan 11 times. A jury heard there had been ill-feeling between McGowan’s family and the 47-year-old victim.
The attack in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, occurred after McGowan, the father of ex-Hearts footballer Ryan McGowan, returned from Australia for his mother’s funeral.
He then fled justice – but helped get himself caught in 2012 when he told helpline counsellors he had killed a man.
He was yesterday jailed at the High Court in Glasgow, having earlier been convicted of murder.
Lady Scott said he was guilty of a ‘brutal and cowardly’ attack.
She added: ‘You took it upon yourself on a brief return for your mother’s funeral to seek out Mr Brannigan and murder him in a premeditated act of revenge.’
McGowan’s son Ryan, an Australian international, was in court to see his dad jailed for life. The pair exchanged brief smiles as the killer was lead to the cells.
A previous hearing in Edinburgh heard Mr Brannigan had been married to McGowan’s sister Carol before divorcing in 1984. But ill-feeling remained between the families. The killer struck after a night out in Coatbridge.
After the stabbing, McGowan returned to Australia. But in 2012 he called a helpline, saying something was ‘slowly eating away’ at him. He added: ‘Once you’ve crossed the line and you jump back... you know you can always go across the line. Some people can’t go across it and I know I went and done it and it’s a frightening thing – a frightening thing to deal with. You go, “Jesus, I can’t kill people”. But I did.’
McGowan was later extradited to face trial. It was one of the first to be investigated by the Crown Office’s cold case unit.