A Brechin man has been found guilty of killing his girlfriend in a frenzied knife attack.
Following a 10-day trial at Glasgow High Court, a jury found Keith Rizzo, 23, stabbed and choked Neomi Smith in her flat in Brechin on June 9 last year.
Prosecutors had told the trial farm worker Rizzo had flown into a jealous rage after watching his 23-year-old partner dance with other men in local bar Hudsons.
After she returned home to her Swan Street flat, he kicked down the front door before launching the vicious assault in her kitchen.
He stabbed her a total of 32 times with two knives, inflicting one wound to her upper back that was so deep it nearly exited her oesophagus.
He also repeatedly hit and strangled the care worker, who is originally from Aberdeen, causing small fractures to the bones in her neck.
In what prosecutors described as “far-fetched” and “entirely inconsistent” accounts, Rizzo had told his mother he found two men in black inside the property.
He claimed the men said his girlfriend owed them money and took turns stabbing her before forcing him to place his hands in her blood and handle the knives.
Rizzo had earlier told police after his arrest he saw a suspicious figure in the alley and heard a man arguing with Ms Smith while he was in a shower but made no mention of the two mystery men.
