Two men who killed a teenager in the first murder case in the Western Isles for more than 40 years have been jailed for at least 18 years each.
Liam Aitchison, 16, was found dead in a derelict building in the Steinish area of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in November 2011.
The teenager, who would have celebrated his 18th birthday this month, had been struck on the head and body with a knife and bottle and had his head stamped on repeatedly, during what police called a “senseless and sustained” attack.
Johnathan MacKinnon and Stefan Millar, both 22, denied murder but were found guilty of the crime by a jury at the High Court in Glasgow earlier this month.
Passing sentence, Judge Lord Kinclaven handed both killers life sentences, as required by law, and ordered them to spend at least 18 years behind bars before they can be considered for release.
“You have both been convicted by verdict of the jury of the most serious of crimes – the crime of murder,” he told the pair during a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh.
“This was the brutal murder of a young man who was only 16 years of age.”
