Man jailed for city knife murder

A man found guilty of murder after stabbing another man through the heart in Aberdeen has been jailed for a minimum of 12-and-a-half years.

John Anderson, 30, had denied murdering William Reeve, 41, who died after a fight in February. Anderson claimed he was acting in self defence.

He was on bail awaiting sentence for having a knife in the same street.

Mr Reeve's widow, Julie, said: "It doesn't matter how many years John gets, it doesn't bring Willie back."

"You deprived a family of a husband and father in cruel circumstances"
Judge Roger Craik QC

Judge Roger Craik QC told Anderson: "You have been convicted by the unanimous verdict of the jury of what on any view was a vicious murder.

"You thereby deprived a family of a husband and father in cruel circumstances."

Not blameless

Mr Reeve and friend James Graham, 42, had confronted Anderson and his brother George, accusing them of an earlier attack on Mr Reeve's disabled teenage son, which followed a row in a nearby children's swing park.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard Mr Graham was armed with a meat cleaver as Mr Reeve punched George Anderson, 33, and knocked him through a hedge.

John Anderson went to the family home and returned to the scene with a knife or knives.

Minutes later, Mr Reeve told his friend: "They got me, Jim."

Mr Reeve died from a knife wound which pierced his heart.

The jury took less than an hour to reject Anderson's claim that he was acting in self defence.

Charges against his brother were dropped during the trial.

Defence QC Edgar Prais described Anderson as a petty criminal whose offending was the result of a drugs problem.

The judge added: "I take the point made by counsel that the conduct of the victim and his friend, James Graham, was far from blameless either."

Grampian Police said the case tragically proved people should not carry knives.

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