Teenager jailed for knife murder

James Demarco was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh

An Edinburgh youth has been jailed for a minimum of 15 years for murdering a teenager while he was out on three separate bail orders.

James Demarco, 18, stabbed Jamie Ewart in the neck when a fight broke out at a house party in Edinburgh.

Mr Ewart, 18, had been out celebrating passing his medical test to join the Army when he was murdered on 13 May.

Demarco had denied the killing but was found guilty of murder by a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh last month.

On Wednesday, he was jailed for life and ordered to serve 15 years before he can be considered for parole.

The victim's father, Charles Ewart, 39, branded the sentence "a joke" and said his son had been denied justice.

The message must be that the scourge of the possession and use of knives is totally unacceptable and will be dealt with accordingly Judge Lord Malcolm

"My son never had a criminal record in his life. He was about to join the army. He had everything going for him.

"Do you call that justice, because I certainly don't," he said.

Judge Lord Malcolm said Demarco had committed a "vicious and unprovoked attack" on a defenceless young man and ordered that he serve 15 years before he is considered for parole.

"The message must be that the scourge of the possession and use of knives is totally unacceptable and will be dealt with accordingly," said the judge.

"With a single blow you severed three vital organs in his neck. Immediately death was inevitable."

Fended off

Demarco was subject to three separate bail orders when he killed Mr Ewart and had been ordered to stay at his bail address between 1900 GMT and 0800 GMT each day.

He claimed that when he swung the knife he did not mean to injure Mr Ewart but was aiming to "fend him off".

He ran away after the incident but handed himself in to police two days later, accompanied by a lawyer, after hearing Mr Ewart had died.

Defence counsel Neil Murray QC said Demarco had accepted responsibility for the murder.