The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
One legged-man’s killer sent to jail for 20 years
Judge condemns drug culture and praises jurors who saw harrowing evidence
A career criminal who murdered a “defenceless” disabled father after the pair fell out has been jailed for life.
Leslie Fraser, 32, of no fixed abode, repeatedly stabbed Kevin Byrne during a “brutal” attack at a house in Alison Street, Kirkcaldy, last February.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard Fraser plunged a knife through Mr Byrne’s neck six times.
The 45-year-old victim had only one leg and could not defend himself from the attack.
The blows caused his carotid artery to be severed and he died shortly afterwards.
Jurors found Fraser guilty of murder yesterday following a trial.
Following his conviction, prosecution lawyer Bernard Ablett revealed Fraser had previous convictions for assault and robbery.
He had previously been jailed for three years at the High Court in Paisley on an assault and robbery charge. He also has other convictions for assault from the sheriff court.
His previous convictions and prison time meant judge Lord Beckett did not have to call for reports and proceeded straight to sentencing.
He told Fraser he would have to serve a minimum of 20 years before he can be eligible for parole.
After Fraser was taken downstairs to the cells, Lord Beckett thanked jurors for their service and told them that due to the distressing nature of the case, they would be excused from jury service for 10 years.
During the trial, one witness claimed Mr Byrne had previously sold heroin to him. They had also listened to graphic evidence detailing the injuries which Mr Byrne had suffered.
Lord Beckett said: “It cannot have been easy for you ladies and gentlemen to sit and hear evidence in this case; to hear of lifestyles which must be quite substantially alien to you; of people taking drugs.
“These dreadful events perhaps remind us of how much of a scourge drugs has on our society.
“Mr Byrne has lost his life and Mr Fraser has been deprived of his liberty. One cannot help but think that all of this could have been avoided if they had lived more stable lives.”
Prosecutors led evidence to show
Mr Byrne, who had a daughter, was murdered some time between February 1 and February 5.
A post-mortem examination revealed he had been stabbed six times in the neck and suffered a major loss of blood.
Detectives found enough forensic evidence to show Fraser was the man responsible for the attack.
They also collected evidence from witnesses to show the pair had fallen out with each other in the weeks leading up to the attack.
Sentencing Fraser, Lord Beckett said: “You nursed grievances against your victim in the time leading up to the attack.
“The infliction of six stab wounds which resulted in the carotid artery being cut shows that the intention of your attack was murderous.”
Speaking after the conviction, Detective Inspector John Easton said Fraser would have to live with the consequences of his “heinous” act.
“I would like to commend Kevin’s family for their strength and dignity throughout this ordeal, as well as thanking the wider community for their ongoing support, which led to this arrest and prosecution.”