Killer jailed for stabbing man in argument over girlfriend

A man has been jailed for 10 years for killing a man, over an argument because he hugged the victim's girlfriend.

The row led Scott West, 46, to stab Mark Hacon-Deavin five times and hit him with a hammer in Glenrothes, Fife, in July last year.

He then abandoned Mr Hacon-Deavin, 41, and sourced almost £3,000 in a bid to leave the town.

West faced a murder allegation, but admitted a reduced charge of culpable homicide at the High Court in Glasgow.

Prosecutor Leanne McQuillan said: "A few weeks prior to the incident, West had hugged Leanne Morrison and told her that he loved her.

"She was the girlfriend of Mark Hacon-Deavin.

"West and her are long time friends. Mark Hacon-Deavin was unhappy at this and appears to have caused what was described as a 'beef' between the men."

She added in the period up until the fatal attack the men had been "antagonising each other".

The court heard how West was awaiting sentence for possession of a knife at the time of the attack.

'Gesture of affection'

The night before the murder, West sent two angry text messages to Mr Hacon-Deavin and they had a brief argument on the phone.

It ended with the pair agreeing to meet at in Boblingen Way, Glenrothes. The court heard there were no eyewitnesses to what then happened.

A passer-by discovered Mr Hacon-Deavin's body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The court heard West contacted his daughter and said he needed money to "get away". She refused, but he withdrew £2,600 from a Credit Union account he had.

After staying at different addresses West was arrested on 22 July 2021.

Mark Stewart KC said the dispute "escalated from a fairly minor and innocuous incident".

He added: "It was a gesture of affection that was misinterpreted."

West also pled guilty to a charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

Judge Lady Stacey told him his actions were "despicable behaviour".