A man who murdered a frail pensioner in a “sustained, vicious and unprovoked” attack in his own home has been sentenced to life in prison.
Keiryn Nisbet, 22, was told he would spent at least 18 years behind bars for killing Robert Simpson, 67, in his home in Armadale, West Lothian, on October 5 last year.
Judge Norman Ritchie QC branded him a “violent young man who presents a considerable danger to the public”.
Police said that they had so far failed to establish a motive for the “violent” attack as they branded Nisbet a “cold and callous individual”.
He had been drinking in a nearby pub on the day of the incident but was repeatedly asked to leave.
After being refused entry to another bar in the area, he was spotted on CCTV walking into Mayfield Drive, Armadale, where Mr Simpson lived, and on the common path to the pensioner’s home.
He repeatedly punched and kicked the man, who walked with the aid of a stick, and stamped on his head and body.
Nisbet, from Armadale, remained in the house for a number of hours before fleeing the scene.
Investigators later found Nisbet’s palm prints, impressions from his footwear, blood and DNA in the house, as well as distinctive fibres from a red hooded top he had been wearing that evening.
He later told social workers that as well as drinking he had taken diazepam and cocaine before the incident, and had no memory of what happened after he left the bar.
Nisbet was found guilty of the murder at the High Court in Edinburgh last month and was sentenced today at the High Court in Glasgow.
In his sentencing statement, Judge Ritchie told Nisbet, who was on bail at the time of the killing, his criminal record was “indicative of an individual with violent tendencies and little consideration for others”.
The judge added : “From your record of offending and from the nature of this horrific and sustained attack on a defenceless, elderly man in his own home, I have concluded that you are a violent young man who presents a considerable danger to the public.”
He described Mr Simpson as a “slightly-built man” who was “frail and in poor health”, and said the the pensioner had been alone at home watching television, with the door to his upstairs flat unlocked.
The judge said the prosecution theory was Nisbet had gone into the property in the “drunken belief” it was his ex-girlfriend’s home, but added it “might never be known” why the murderer had entered the flat.
Nisbet inflicted a “substantial number of forceful blows to his head and body and dragged him across the room” leaving the pensioner with injuries to his head and body, including several fractured ribs.
“Your brutal and senseless attack left Mr Simpson bloodied and dying on the floor of his living room,” the judge told him.
Judge Ritchie said neighbours called the police after hearing the disturbance, but when officers attended the house both it and the property below were in darkness.
He said: “The police officers received no response at Mr Simpson’s door. As there was no continuing disturbance, the officers left.
“It appears that you were still in Mr Simpson’s home at that time. You did not get help for him. He either died in front of you or you left him to die slowly on his own.”
The judge said after the attack that Nisbet tried to get into a nightclub before ending up at a house party, saying: “There was no distress or remorse exhibited by you.”
In a statement released afterwards, Detective Chief Inspector Bob Cowper said: “Keiryn Nisbet did not know Ronnie Simpson and throughout our enquiries we have been unable to establish any possible motive for this violent attack, which resulted in the 67-year-old’s death.
“He has proven himself to be a cold and callous individual, who has shown no remorse for his actions and the impact they have had on Mr Simpson’s family.
“With Keiryn Nisbet now set to spend a considerable period of time behind bars, I sincerely hope that Mr Simpson’s family can put this horrendous ordeal behind them and begin to move on with their lives.”
Nicky Patrick, Procurator Fiscal for High Court cases in the East of Scotland, said: “Keiryn Nisbet subjected Robert Simpson, a quiet and frail man who walked with the aid of a walking stick, to a sustained, vicious and unprovoked attack in his own home.
“Thanks to the hard work of police and prosecutors, today he has been sentenced to life behind bars.”