A west Fife man who stabbed to death the brother he “loved to bits” has been jailed for four years.
Alistair Thomson (43) stabbed his brother John Pickersgill in the stomach after the pair got into a fight following an evening spent drinking at a house in Cowdenbeath on January 30.
Thomson, formerly of Fairy Fa’ in Crossgates, pleaded guilty to a culpable homicide charge last month.
At the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday Judge Lord Tyre said if Thomson had not pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity he would have sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment.
Lord Tyre also took into account Thomson’s remorse, which he did not doubt was genuine.
The judge said he was also aware Thomson’s family, who were in the public benches, remained supportive of him despite this “tragic incident.”
Thomson wept as his QC told the High Court in Glasgow how their mother was devastated as one son was dead and another was responsible.
Defence counsel Herbert Kerrigan QC read out a letter from a relative which stated the brothers “loved each other to bits”, but “when drinking it was a different story.”
Mr Kerrigan said, “This is a wholly unique and particularly tragic case.
“Their mother finds it hard to talk about it because one son is dead and the other is the accused.””I didn’t mean to kill him”The court heard the men had been drinking at a woman’s home in Braemount, Cowdenbeath.
They later started fighting in the hall and Thomson suffered a head wound that eventually required 20 stitches.
Advocate depute John Scullion said, “The deceased and the accused then entered the kitchen. The deceased was seen to leave the kitchen and enter the living room, followed by the accused.
“The accused stabbed the deceased once to the abdomen with a knife.”
Mr Pickersgill (43) died from internal bleeding.
Thomson later told police, “I didn’t mean to kill him.”
Lord Tyre accepted Thomson had been subjected to “extreme provocation consisting of a very serious assault by your brother which resulted in your requiring surgery in the hospital to which your brother was also taken.”
He added that another mitigating factor was that Thomson had not previously served a custodial sentence and the risk of reoffending was low.
He said, “However, despite all of what I have said, I feel bound to impose a custodial sentence.””Deliberate aspect”Lord Tyre said, “You have taken the life of your brother.
“I have to bear in mind that there was a deliberate aspect to what you did. Having suffered the assault by your brother, you went to the kitchen to fetch a knife. You then went with the knife to the living room and deliberately stabbed him in the abdomen, with a blow which was sufficiently deep to cause him to bleed to death.
“It is also a factor which counts against you that all of this occurred when you had been drinking heavily.”
He added, “Although it is accepted that you did not have the wicked intention to kill which would have resulted in a charge of murder, you have intentionally inflicted a knife wound which was sufficiently severe to cause death.”
Lord Tyre backdated the start of the sentence to August 16.
Fife Constabulary’s head of crime management, Detective Superintendent Garry McEwan, said, “Tackling violent crime is a very high priority for Fife Constabulary and is reflected as such within our policing plan.
“The action of Alistair Thomson which led to the death of his brother John Pickersgill is evidence of the tragic circumstances that can result from violent behaviour, particularly when knives are involved.”
He added, “Undoubtedly the events that took place during this incident will weigh heavily on Mr Thomson for the rest of his life.
“Only he will know why he chose to attack his brother with a knife.”
Mr McEwan said, “The loss of a loved one is always hard to come to terms with, but this case in particular emphasises the devastating effects that violent crime can have on family life within our communities.”