Boy who was 15 when he killed Alness father-of-two is jailed

BBC News

01-07-2025

A teenager who killed a father-of-two in an attack in the Highlands has been jailed for six-and-a-half years.The boy, who was 15 at the time, punched and kicked Scott Mitchell, 48, in a back garden in Alness on 17 June 2023.The High Court in Edinburgh heard the teenager had an "anger problem" and mistakenly believed Mr Mitchell was sexually assaulting a woman.Judge Lord Arthurson described the killing as "savage and merciless".
The teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, admitted to the culpable homicide of Mr Mitchell during a hearing in Inverness last month.
The court previously heard how Mr Mitchell, a BT engineer who had split from his wife, met a woman in Alness' Station Bar.They later went to a house where the teenager saw Mr Mitchell kissing the woman in the back garden.The boy had been drinking at a friend's house and was walking home at about midnight.A neighbour heard the teenager's screams of anger and shouted at him to leave Mr Mitchell alone, but the attack continued.Mr Mitchell, a keen runner and cyclist who had raised thousands for local charities, died after suffering injuries to his face.Police found the teenager soaked in blood in a nearby park. He later told officers he had an anger problem.He had originally faced a murder allegation before prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the reduced charge.
'Sheer brutality'
Donald Findlay KC, defending, told the High Court in Glasgow the teenager had "misread" the situation between Mr Mitchell and the woman with "appalling consequences".The advocate added that the boy was now "absolutely distraught" at what he had done.Sentencing him, Lord Arthurson said: "This was a savage, sustained and merciless case of sheer brutality. "You punched and kicked your victim to death."You battered his face to a pulp while you were, as you later stated, out of control with anger."The judge said Mr Mitchell died a terrible, violent and lonely death.Lord Arthurson added: "One day you will complete your sentence and return home to resume your life - that prospect has been wholly denied for Mr Mitchell and his grieving family entirely due to your appalling behaviour."