Life sentence for man who stabbed brother to death

Mark Byrne had been annoyed at his brother for shouting at their mother on the phone

A man who stabbed his brother to death in "a moment of madness" has been jailed for life.

Mark Byrne, 51, was ordered to serve at least 12 years in prison after stabbing his brother Paul, 47, in the heart.

The brothers had earlier watched a Celtic v Rangers match at Mark Byrne's home in Glasgow's Glenalmond.

A judge told the killer it was a "tragic" case involving the taking of the life of one brother by another brother.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Cubie said Byrne had "inexplicably" armed himself with a knife before stabbing his younger brother in the neck and chest.

He told him: "You left immediately despite the fact that Paul was lying in a pool of blood."

Following an earlier trial at the High Court in Glasgow, Byrne was found guilty of murdering his brother on 1 May 2022 by striking him on the body with a knife.

He had previously pled guilty to the lesser offence of culpable homicide but the Crown rejected his plea.

Window cleaner Byrne told jurors at his trial that he was annoyed at Paul for shouting down the phone at their mother, but denied wanting to harm him. He said what happened had been a blur.

The violence flared after the brothers, the killer's then-partner and a friend had watched the Old Firm derby draw on TV at the older brother's home.

Byrne had taken his younger brother's phone from him and the pair ended up in the kitchen. Paul demanded his mobile back, but the confrontation turned physical and he was stabbed in what a witness described as a "frenzied" assault.

After the attack, Byrne went to the home of another brother before he was arrested.

First offence

Defence counsel Thomas Ross KC said this was Byrne's first offence. He said Byrne, who is one of seven siblings, had not only abstained from offending but had made a positive contribution to society in the past.

"He knows his actions over those seconds have deprived his mother of a son and his siblings of a brother," he said.

"In every sense it is a tragic situation. It is a moment of madness."

Mr Ross added: "He finds it extremely difficult to come to terms with the fact he was responsible for the death of his brother. He will never be the same person.

"He will continue to bear the weight of responsibility for what he did that day.

"He is a good man, a hard-working man, who did something extremely dangerous once and will regret the consequences of that for the rest of his natural life."