Killer, 18, turned in by mother is jailed for 10 years

A TEENAGER whose mother turned him over to the police hours after he killed a stranger has been jailed for 10 years.

Graeme Bell, 18, was handed over to the police by his mother after he came home covered in blood and with a kitchen knife hanging out his trouser pocket.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Bell was responsible for the culpable homicide of father-of-one Patrick Ferguson, 48, in Midcroft Avenue, Glasgow, on February 19 last year.

Passing sentence, judge Lady Stacey ordered Bell to be supervised by the authorities for two years following his release from custody.

Bell, of Glasgow, was charged with murder, but convicted of the lesser charge after a trial at the High Court in the city earlier this month. He was also convicted of carrying a knife.

Sentence had been deferred for the court to obtain reports about Bell’s character.

During earlier proceedings, prosecutor David Taylor said Bell has four previous convictions, including one for assault to injury for which he received a 12-month sentence.

In evidence, his mother Pauline Bell, 58, told of how her son came home in the early hours covered in blood.

She said: “I opened the door to him and walked up the stairs behind him. His clothes were heavily stained.

“I noticed there was a knife hanging out of Graeme’s trouser pocket. There was blood on the knife. I took it from his pocket and said: ‘I’m going to call the police’. I didn’t want him to go anywhere.”

Bell did not give evidence in court, but claimed through his legal team he was acting in self-defence.