Man stabbed brother in the heart after watching Celtic v Rangers match

A killer stabbed his brother to death after they had been watching a Celtic and Rangers match.

Mark Byrne attacked Paul Byrne at the 51-year-old’s then-family home in Sandyhills, Glasgow, on May 1, 2022.

Paul, 47, never recovered, having been knifed in the heart.

Window cleaner Byrne – who had never been convicted of any violent offences – went on trial at the High Court in Glasgow accused of murder.

An offer to plead guilty to the reduced charge of culpable homicide had earlier been rejected.

Byrne told jurors he had been annoyed at Paul that day for shouting down the phone to their mother.

This eventually led to him stabbing his sibling, although he insisted what happened was “a blur”.

He denied wanting to harm Paul, but he was found guilty of murder.

Byrne, now of the city’s Drumchapel, had been on bail, but was remanded in custody and faces a life sentence when he returns to the dock next month.

Jurors heard how the brothers, the killer’s then-partner and a friend had watched the Glasgow Derby on TV that afternoon at Byrne’s home.

Byrne described the atmosphere as “good…having a laugh”.

Byrne went upstairs to his room at one point after the game, which finished 1-1.

He later became aware of his brother downstairs shouting and appearing to be arguing with someone on the phone.

Byrne then learned he was on a call to their mother.

The court heard she appeared to be “defending” Paul’s ex after they had an argument.

Byrne admitted he was “angry” at his mum being upset and snatched the phone from his sibling.

The pair ended up in the kitchen as Paul demanded his mobile back.

The court heard the confrontation between the brothers went from “verbal to physical”.

It was during this Byrne fatally stabbed Paul in what one witness described as a “frenzied” assault.

He claimed not to know exactly where he got the knife from.

His KC Thomas Ross put to him during his evidence: “Any recollection where you struck him or how many times?”

Byrne: “None at all.”

As Paul lay bleeding and stricken on the floor, Byrne jumped in his car and headed to the home of another brother before being arrested.

Byrne told jurors he “could not make any sense” of what he had done.

Mr Ross said to him: “You have never been convicted of any violent offences in your life and never took up a knife on anyone?”

He replied: “Correct.”

The defence advocate: “What was in your head when you struck your brother?”

Byrne: “It is a blur.”

Asked how he now felt, he told the trial: “Devastated. I have lost family and my partner through this.”

He accepted what happened was a “terrible thing”.

Prosecutors accused Byrne of “trying to make up a story” to avoid being convicted of murder.

Advocate depute David McLean put to the killer that Paul had tried to defend himself, but he was struck with the blade, including a blow that went into his heart.

Mr McLean: “You intended to do Paul harm?”

Byrne: “No.”

The prosecutor: “How do you know if you cannot remember?”

He stated: “We were just arguing. He was my brother.”

Lord Cubie adjourned the case until December 10 in Edinburgh, when the killer will learn the minimum he will spend behind bars.

The judge told him: “May 1, 2022 was a tragic day for the Byrne family. The loss was exacerbated by the person who took Paul Byrne’s life was, you, his brother.

“It was within your control to control these consequences.”