Man stabbed brother during row over phone call

A man who stabbed his brother in a fight triggered after he abruptly ended a phone call with him the night before has been sentenced.

Lauerinn Kaighin, 25, told his sibling he had a knife in his pocket during the clash on the stairs of their family home in Ramsey last August before stabbing him - leaving him with wounds to his chest, scalp and thigh.

Douglas Courthouse heard Kaighin had hung up on his brother the night before after he called trying to get hold one of their other siblings while out with his workmates.

He was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison, suspended for two years, with a two-year supervision order.

The court heard that on the evening of 26 August, the victim had been out with workmates and had missed the bus home so had ended up taking a taxi to Peel where he visited his girlfriend.

After returning to the family home in Albion Terrace in Ramsey early on the morning of 27 August, he had met Kaighin on the stairs and angrily asked why he had earlier put the phone down, swearing at him.

At that point, Kaighin said he had the knife - which had a 3 inch (7.6cm) blade - in the pocket of his hoodie, to which his brother responded by saying "go on, do something".

He stabbed his brother in the back of the chest, before inflicting two more cuts to his upper thigh and scalp during the struggle that ensued.

When police arrived at about 06:00 BST, the brothers' mother told them Kaighin was in the back garden and handed them the knife.

The court heard he was found with cannabis in his possession and was visibly shaking when he was arrested, with more of the drug recovered from his bedroom.

Originally charged with wounding with intent, that was changed to one of wounding, which he admitted.

The court was told he said he was scared of his brother, especially when he had been drinking, and had been acting in self-defence.

Prosecutors said that was a position his brother had made clear he supported.

In his statement to police, the victim said he had always had a good relationship with his brother, who had autism and Asperger's.

The basis on which Kaighin entered the guilty plea was that he was "not the original aggressor" but he accepted he had used "unreasonable force".

He had had the knife in his pocket to harm himself, it added.

His defence advocate described the case as "terribly sad".

Sentencing him, Deemster Graeme Cook said the prosecution had "acted quite properly in this matter".

However, he said, that "does not disguise the fact that you stabbed your brother with a knife".

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