An out-of-control, drink and drug-fuelled knife attacker has been sentenced to life imprisonment after brutally stabbing a young man to death.
Caleb Ferguson was ordered to serve at least 16 years before he is eligible for parole after the murder of Cameron Rae, 20, in a Perth flat.
As Ferguson was led away from the dock at the High Court in Edinburgh to begin his sentence, shouts of “f*****g rot” and “f*****g burn” were sent his way from the public benches.
Ferguson, who was 18 at the time of the murder, stabbed his victim three times in the torso, with one wound causing fatal internal damage.
A judge told the killer that a victim impact statement, issued by the deceased’s mother on behalf of his family, described the ongoing daily impact of the loss of the beloved son and brother.
Lord Scott said: “She says Cameron’s death has torn their family apart.”
Police ScotlandCaleb Ferguson stabbed Cameron Rae to death. Police Scotland
The judge said a background report on Ferguson was prepared based on evidence he heard during his previous trial about his excessive consumption of alcohol and cocaine at the time of the crime.
Lord Scott said: “In your own words ‘at that moment you lost control’.” He said the report details several adverse childhood experiences that continue to influence Ferguson.
He told him: ‘I am disregarding what you told the author of the report about selling drugs over a long period of time to provide you with a significant income.’
Ferguson, now 20, had previously denied murdering Rae at a flat in South Methven Street, Perth, on April 8 last year by repeatedly hitting him on the body with a knife, but was found guilty of the crime.
At the start of the trial he admitted killing the victim after entering a guilty plea to the lesser offense of culpable homicide, but the Crown rejected that.
STV newsCameron Rae was stabbed three times and died from his injuries. STV news
Following the fatal attack, Ferguson fled into the streets of Perth before turning up at Arbroath police station hours later, dressed in clean clothes and claiming he had been out for a night in the town of Angus and needed help getting back to Perth.
The court heard that Ferguson told his sister in a telephone conversation after the murder that he had “plugged” his victim.
A witness said he was watching an Old Firm football match on TV with others at a bar in Perth when Ferguson joined them.
He and Ferguson went to the flat where the attack later took place to continue drinking. As he left the flat he bumped into Mr Rae, who had also been drinking, and invited him back to the premises.
The witness said that at one point he left Ferguson and Mr Rae in the flat while he went to do a drug deal. He returned to find Mr Rae injured and Ferguson looking angry.
Deputy Attorney Greg Farrell told jurors at the earlier trial: “Caleb Ferguson said something about Cammy calling his father a junkie and that appears to be the only explanation Caleb Ferguson offers as to why he stabbed Cameron Rae to death.”
The prosecutor said: “The evidence in this case establishes a murderous attack that shows that the accused Caleb Ferguson either intended to kill Cameron Rae or was terribly reckless as to whether he lived or died.”
Defense barrister Richard Goddard KC said there was evidence that both the witness and Ferguson were on the phone to emergency services immediately after the incident in an attempt to seek help for the deceased.
Asking the judge to take into account the Scottish guidelines for sentencing young people, Mr Goddard said: “I would ask your Honor to consider that this is a young person who has had adverse childhood experiences and who at the time this crime was committed, he was in poor health.”
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