Infamous Scots. David Meehan.

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Teen gets 16 years for homophobic murder

By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent – Telegraph.co.uk

November 14, 2007

A teenager who murdered a gay council worker in a homophobic attack in a public park has been jailed for life.

David Meehan, 19, was ordered to serve at least 16 years for his part in the “savage” attack on James Kerr, 51.

His accomplice Martin Soutar, 21, pleaded guilty to culpable homicide and was jailed for nine years, and a 15-year-old schoolboy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will be sentenced today.

The youth sparked the attack on the South Inch in Perth and admitted assaulting the victim by punching him in the face and knocking him to the ground.

Lord Macphail, at the High Court in Edinburgh, told Meehan: “This was a killing of a callous and brutal character which appears to have been marked by a homophobic element. This was a savage and sustained attack on a defenceless man who had done you no harm.”

The judge added Meehan was “liable to be detained for life” and would have faced a minimum 18-year term had he not pleaded guilty.

The court heard earlier that Mr Kerr, a civic officer with Perth and Kinross council, was in the park in the early hours of April 22 when the boy was taking a shortcut home. A witness heard the boy threatening him before using his mobile phone to call Soutar, claiming that he had been assaulted.

Meehan and Soutar, both from Perth, were given a lift to the park and met up with the 15-year-old before attacking Mr Kerr.