At the door of Edinburgh High Court, Steven Donaldson’s family paid tribute to their son and brother, and the support from within the community of Angus since the horrific events of June last year.
DCI Andy Patrick of the Police Scotland Major Investigation team read a statement on behalf of the family at the door of the court following the guilty verdicts.
“Every day we think about Steven and what happened to him, and as a family we are still trying to come to terms with our loss,” said the family, who had endured the entire 22 days of the case.
“Steven was a much loved member of our family who was always willing to help out and always had a smile on his face,” said the statement.
“He was popular amongst a large group of friends and had a good sense of humour.
“His presence is sorely missed by us as and as a family we are extremely pleased with the today’s verdict.
“However it doesn’t being Steven back to us.
“Steven was far too young to die, still having his whole life ahead of him. His dreams and aspirations in life have been cut short due to the senseless and unprovoked actions of his killers.
“Steven went to Kirriemuir that night to meet someone who he trusted, unaware that very person would be the one to cost him his life.
“We believe there is no place in society for people who are willing to use weapons and commit such acts of violence.
“The length of sentence they receive will never compare to the sentence we will continue to endure, but we hope it will reflect the severity of the crime and the community can feel safer in the knowledge that these killers will not be back on the streets for a long time.
“We would like to take this opportunity to give special thanks to Police Scotland for all of their hard work in the investigation process and everyone else involved in bringing this case to court.
“We would also like to thank the community of Angus for their overwhelming support throughout this difficult time.
“Now that we as a family eventually feel some form of closure, we would appreciate being given the privacy to grieve.”
In Saturday’s Courier: The full story of a murder that shocked a community
