Kilmarnock man admits attempted murder after trail of blood leads to his door
Daniel Johnstone stabbed his victim 27 times
Last updated 17th Nov 2017
A thug who stabbed a man 27 times and left him lying in the road in Kilmarnock, was snared by a trial of blood which led police straight to him.
On Friday at the High Court in Glasgow Daniel Johnstone, 25, admitted attempting to murder 26-year-old Paul Sullivan at Balmoral Road on March 28.
Prosecutor John Keenan said: “Mr Sullivan was stabbed 27 times in the chest, neck and abdomen. He has no recollection of the evening and has no idea how he came to be injured.”
The court heard that police and paramedics rushed to the scene after a security guard spotted Mr Sullivan lying in the street at 2.20am and bleeding heavily.
Mr Sullivan had to undergo a four-hour operation to repair damage to his small bowel and liver and has been left scarred.
Police followed a trial of blood which led from where Mr Sullivan lay, back to a house in Balmoral Road.
A blood-stained carrier bag containing a knife was found at the rear of the house and Johnstone was found in bed asleep wearing a blood-stained T-shirt.
Forensic experts examined the knife and the T-shirt and found that both had traces of Mr Sullivan's blood on them.
Defence advocate Paul Nelson said that the two men had been drinking together earlier that night.
He added: “Mr Johnstone went inside the house in Balmoral Road, but Mr Sullivan was not allowed in.
“Mr Sullivan was kicking at the gate and making a lot of noise and was asked to leave.
“When he refused to do so Mr Johnstone picked up a knife to back up his request to go away. However Mr Sullivan came towards him and he acted in the way described.”
Judge Lord Kinclaven called for a risk assessment of the danger Johnstone poses to the public and deferred sentence until next month at the High Court in Edinburgh.