Former soldier who stabbed man to death with screwdriver in doorstep attack jailed

A former soldier who stabbed a man to death at the door of his home has been jailed for life for the brutal murder.

Stephen McGhee, 48, was ordered to serve at least 21 years in prison before he becomes eligible to seek release on parole following the death of Kevan Doyle in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire.

A judge told McGhee at the High Court in Edinburgh: “The speed and ferocity of the attack was plain to see on CCTV footage.”

Lord Young said McGhee was “a man quick to violence” who had ten convictions for assault, with several of them aggravated by the injuries inflicted or the use of a weapon.

The judge said that Mr Doyle, 43, had experienced many difficulties in his life and added: “He was part of a close and loving family and they miss him very deeply.”

McGhee had earlier denied murdering Mr Doyle in the attack with a screwdriver or a knife or similar implement by repeatedly striking him on the head and body with the weapon on October 28, 2022, at an address in Glencleland Road, Wishaw, but was convicted of the crime.

The court heard that it appeared that the lethal weapon used in the attack was a screwdriver.

McGhee claimed that he wanted to help his friend and went to get him a spare phone before he returned to the house, where he alleged Mr Doyle and others effectively ambushed him.

But the fatal assault was caught on CCTV, with prosecutor William Frain-Bell KC describing three blows to the head and chest of the victim as “forceful, violent and immediate”.

McGhee fled the scene and said he only realised something serious had occurred when he saw police tape at the house.

He told jurors at his earlier trial: “I could not believe what had happened had resulted in his death.”

Defence counsel Tony Graham KC said it as “a needless death” and added: “He stands to spend a considerable time in custody for ending a human life.”

He said “a considerable amount of alcohol” had been consumed on the day of the attack and told the court: “It goes without saying that if Mr McGhee could relive that day he would never have returned to that house.”