Drug addict who murdered man in his own home jailed for life
Police ScotlandA drug addict who murdered a man in his own home in North Ayrshire has been jailed for life.
Terrence Welsh, 42, stabbed 59-year-old Stuart Kennedy in the chest as he sat in a chair at his flat in Ardrossan.
The men had been in the house with Kennedy's daughter and another woman before a row broke out.
Kennedy's daughter left the flat and when she returned later, Welsh told her: "Your dad is dead. I have murdered him."
Welsh had denied murder when he stood trial at the High Court in Glasgow, but was found guilty by a jury last month.
He was cleared of the attempted murder of the other woman in the flat, who had claimed that Welsh threw her from a window.
The court had heard how a neighbour saw Welsh emerge from the flat after the murder looking "like a mad man".
The witness said: "His eyes were bulging. He was flicking the knife over in his hand between his fingers."
Welsh was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh by judge Lord Cubie, who told him: "You stabbed the complainer when he was seated and not armed.
"Mr Kennedy leaves behind family.
"His death was a tragic consequence of your own self-absorption."
Graeme Brown KC, defending Welsh, told the judge his client had spent his life struggling with drug addiction.
He added: "It is clear that he has not done enough to address that particular issue."
The judge ordered that Welsh serve a minimum of 19 years in prison before being considered for parole.
