Man guilty of shopkeeper murder

Forensic officers gathered evidence at the scene

A man who killed an Ayrshire shopkeeper in an unprovoked attack has been convicted of murder.

At the High Court at Kilmarnock, John McGeechan was unanimously convicted by a jury of the murder of Mohammed Amjid Ismail on 8 November 2006.

The victim was working in his family's shop at Kirkland Stores in Maybole when he was stabbed by McGeechan.

Judge Lady Clark deferred sentence until 21 May for a social inquiry report and a risk assessment.

McGeechan has been remanded in custody.

The shopkeeper was discovered by a member of the public after the attack and taken to Ayr Hospital.

He died a short time later.

The attack left the whole town devastated.

Speaking after the verdict, the Interim District Fiscal for Ayr, James Kelman, said: "This was an unprovoked, vicious attack where the accused took the life of an innocent young man while he was at work in the shop his family have owned for 20 years.

"The investigation was a complex one but, as with all cases of this nature, we as prosecutors were absolutely committed to gathering all available evidence in order to bring this case to a jury.

"We are in no doubt about the devastating effect which a crime of this nature can have on the family of the victim, and of the further trauma which a trial can cause. Our thoughts today remain very much with Amjid's family."