Mother tells of anguish after son’s killer jailed

The mother of footballer Shaun Woodburn has told how she was left “numb” after his killer was sentenced to four years in prison.

Denise Syme spoke out after the 17-year-old, who cannot be named, was sentenced for the culpable homicide of Mr Woodburn, 30, during a New Year street fight.

The attacker was still a schoolboy when he joined a gang on a Hogmanay rampage across Edinburgh, culminating in Mr Woodburn’s death in Leith.

“I feel numb – four years is not enough,” his mother said. “It’s an insult to my family and all of the other victims too. What kind of message are we sending to young people if you can kill someone and only get a four year sentence?

“I’m glad it’s over as now I can forget how Shaun died and remember how he lived.”

And she later added on Facebook: “No sentence was going to be long enough and I can’t bear to think that my lovely son’s life was taken and he will probably be out in two years – it’s an insult.”

The teenager denied causing Shaun’s death, but admitted assaulting five other people in Edinburgh that night.

He was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow after being found guilty at an earlier trial in Dunfermline of Shaun’s culpable homicide. He was tried for murder.