Pair jailed for total of 34 years for murder of Drumchapel dad

A knife attacker who brutally murdered a vulnerable man after he was lured to a remote area was today jailed for life.

35 year-old Joseph McIntyre was ordered to serve at least 23 years in prison for his part in the slaying of Darren Sinclair.

McIntyre's co-accused 21 year-old Robert Dunn was jailed for 11 years after he was convicted of the lesser crime of culpable homicide for his role in the killing.

Mr Sinclair was stabbed through the heart before being abandoned at wasteland in Glasgow's Drumchapel area in November last year. He suffered 10 stab wounds in the fatal assault.

A judge told McIntyre at the High Court in Edinburgh: "On the evidence this was a cowardly, brutal attack with a weapon on a vulnerable individual who had been lured to a remote location."

Lord Kinclaven said it was clear from victim statements the whole family of the deceased have been left devastated by his loss.

The judge warned McIntyre that the 23-year punishment part imposed on him did not necessarily mean he would be released on licence at the end of that minimum term.

Lord Kinclaven told Dunn: "Clearly there is no alternative to a significant custodial sentence. No other method of dealing with you is appropriate."

The judge said that he took into account that Dunn was a first offender who was convicted of a lesser crime.

Lord Kinclaven said he had noted Dunn's expressions of remorse and regret, including feelings of disgust.

The court heard that 27-year-old Mr Sinclair was the victim of an attack months earlier, causing him a brain injury, and spoke to police about the incident.

This led to graffiti being daubed in the area, including: "Sinky's a grass."

McIntyre and Dunn were earlier convicted of fatally attacking Mr Sinclair on November 6 by repeatedly punching him and repeatedly striking him with a knife at ground at Invercanny Place, in Drumchapel.

While in hiding in the wake of the killing McIntyre told a 10-year-old girl that he had stabbed someone.

Their trial heard that Mr Sinclair was allegedly assaulted earlier in 2018 and later spoke to police, before leaving for England.

But he returned to Drumchapel two days before his death and went to a local fireworks display on November 5. The court heard there were concerns about his safety.

He visited a betting shop and McIntyre was seen peering in at a window looking for him. Advocate depute Jane Farquharson QC told jurors that McIntyre was then "never far away" from his victim.

McIntyre and Dunn then ended up with Mr Sinclair at a dark and isolated spot where the attack on him was launched.

The prosecutor said there was a calculated and "quite sinister aspect" to the killing.

Mr Sinclair was also slashed across the face in the attack and was found by a passerby.

After the killing prosecutors said McIntyre dumped a knife, changed his hair colour and grew a beard in a bid to avoid the law.

When told that Mr Sinclair had died he said: "That is what you get for being a grass."

He ended up living with a friend and told a girl that he carried out a stabbing. She said: "He was sad, but angry at the same time."

Dunn, who originally faced a murder charge, was described after the attack as "pure shaking".

Forensic DNA evidence linked both men to the crime that they perpetrated.

Defence counsel John Scullion QC, for McIntyre, said he continued to blame his co-accused.

He said McIntyre has a previous conviction for possession of a knife but no record for violence and has never before served a jail sentence.

Brian McConnachie QC, for Dunn, said he had never been in trouble prior to the fatal attack.

He said: "There is, in my submission, an element of mystery perhaps as to why he became involved in this matter at all."

Mr McConnachie said: "There is nothing to suggest any animus between him and Mr Sinclair."

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