Father is cleared of attempted murder

A dad who admitted stabbing a man four times wept in the dock as he was cleared of attempted murder yesterday.

A jury at the High Court in Livingston believed Campbell Gray’s claim he acted in self-defence when he repeatedly knifed Martin Davie in Kelty.

The jury returned a majority verdict finding him not guilty.

Giving evidence in his own defence, Gray, 31, told how Mr Davie went to Gray’s flat because he was upset by the accused inviting his girlfriend’s ex to join a live, online, house party on Facebook.

He burst into Gray’s home and repeatedly punched him in the face with a metal knuckleduster, the jury heard.

He claimed he panicked when Mr Davie started to pull him back downstairs.

He said: “I was in fear of my life. I’ve reached out and grabbed the knife which was lying on the right side of the stairs.

“It didn’t feel like I did, but I stabbed him twice to the side and once to the back.

“I managed to get my feet in between us and kick Martin in the chest and knocked him back down the stairs to the bottom. I then retreated into the living room.”

He said Mr Davie left the building after being told the police had been called.

Gray had denied attempting to murder Mr Davie in the house at Blair Street, Kelty, on March 27 and attempting to defeat the ends of justice by dumping the knife he used in a street drain.

The three “lifethreatening” wounds to Mr Davie’s chest and back included a severed artery. A fourth knife wound to his head was minor. The jury was shown medical evidence that he would make a full recovery with no significant impairment but would be left with permanent scars.