'NO REMORSE'

Teen brothers and pal who murdered Edinburgh OAP with hammer and screwdriver given life sentences as judge names killers

THREE teens who brutally murdered a vulnerable pensioner in his Edinburgh home in a frenzied attack have been named.

Kierin McMillan or Elliot, who was 19 at the time of the offence, and his brother Aron and pal Levi Hunter or Brown were given life sentences at the High Court in Edinburgh today.

Aron was 16 when he took part in the fatal attack while Levi was just 15.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how the trio had attacked their victim with a screwdriver, hammer, wrench, his walking stick and picture frames and kicked and stamped on him.

Alasdair Forsyth, 67, sustained extensive rib fractures amongst an array of injuries during the attack at his flat in Edinburgh where he lived alone last year.

Judge Lord Uist slammed the trio at the High Court: "Mr Forsyth suffered the most terrible injuries. He sustained a total of 80 injuries and died of blunt force chest trauma.

"It is a scandal in a supposedly civilised society that a man should meet his death in this manner.

"The attack on Mr Forsyth was a planned robbery in which each of you took a tool to be used as a weapon, namely a screwdriver, a wrench and a hammer, and battered him to death in his home."

Lord Uist was satisfied that it was in the interests of justice that any report of the court proceedings should be able to reveal the names of the two younger murderers. Up until today they could not be identified because they were offenders aged under 18.

The trio were sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The three teens were apprehended by police after cops were called to the flat in Prestonfield area in the evening of February 21 last year.

On arrival, they met the three teenagers coming down the stairs. A hammer, a wrench, a screwdriver and a mobile phone were dropped to the floor.

The attack on Mr Forsyth was a planned robbery in which each of you took a tool to be used as a weapon, namely a screwdriver, a wrench and a hammer, and battered him to death in his home.Lord Uist

The McMillan brothers and Hunter had earlier denied murdering Mr Forsyth, a former Edinburgh University student, at his home on Clearburn Road.

All three were found guilty of the crime following a trial last year and the two younger killers were also convicted of a violent crime spree in the days leading up to the murder in which children and adults were attacked in Edinburgh.

Lord Uist told the older brother that it was clear he was "the leader of this gang of thugs".

He said: "You lied about your involvement in the crime and have shown no remorse."

This was a brutal, sustained attack using weapons on a vulnerable 67 year-old man in his own home.David Green, Procurator Fiscal for Major Crime and Homicide

He also told the High Court it was concerning that the older McMillan brother had previously broken into the home of a senior citizen in 2015.

The judge told the younger brother, who was on bail at the time of the murder, that there had been concerns about his violent behaviour since he was six years old and claimed he was "by no means a young innocent led astray".

He also pointed out that Hunter has been taking drugs since the age of 11 and at the time was in care and subject to a compulsory supervision order.

Procurator Fiscal for Major Crime and Homicide David Green said: "This was a brutal, sustained attack using weapons on a vulnerable 67 year-old man in his own home.

“The motive appears to have been robbery and it is clear they had no qualms about using violence and have shown no remorse for their actions.

“The swift response of the police led to the capture of these three criminals at the scene, obtaining key evidence that allowed the prosecution to put forward a strong case and ultimately protecting the wider community from their violent behaviour."