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A 17-year-old has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years after killing a man with a hunting knife while on bail for a previous violent incident. The teenager fatally stabbed 22-year-old John McNab during an unprovoked attack on Great Junction Street in Leith on 2 September last year. This deadly assault occurred just four months after the youth was released on bail, having been charged with an earlier knife attack involving a 16-year-old at Portobello Beach.
The accused, whose identity remains protected due to his age, pleaded guilty to both offenses. At the sentencing hearing held at the High Court in Dundee, Lord Harrower condemned the attack as “merciless” and reflected on the tragedy of a young man with his entire life ahead of him being taken away. He highlighted the profound loss experienced by McNab’s family and friends, describing it as “an incalculable void.”
CCTV footage played a central role in the case, capturing McNab pleading with his attacker before being stabbed four times as he lay on the ground. According to the footage, McNab tried to escape but stumbled and fell, at which point the fatal stabbings occurred. The victim, a warehouse worker, was heard saying “Help me, help me, I’m dying” to his friends before he passed away. On the night of the murder, the teenager had been involved in an altercation with some of McNab’s friends and had waited outside a nearby flat for over two hours before targeting McNab, who had not been part of the earlier scuffle.
Lisa Petrie, McNab’s mother, spoke exclusively to BBC Scotland News about the impact of the footage and her son’s death. She described the haunting nature of seeing her son in such fear and expressed her determination to campaign for change. Petrie has called for stricter regulations on the sale of knives, advocating for requirements similar to those for alcohol, such as secure packaging or removing knives from general shelves. She also questioned why the teenager had been granted bail after the initial knife attack and believes he should have been detained in a secure facility to prevent further harm. The court heard that since the murder, the teenager has been diagnosed with autism and post-traumatic stress disorder. He will remain detained indefinitely and can only be released if the parole board deems it safe
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