Son Attempts To Murder Mother Who Killed Father

[bloodrayne]

Man Tried To Murder His Mother

Scotland - A man who tried to murder his mother decades after she killed his father has been jailed for more than six years.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, James McReath, 32, admitted attempting to murder Marcella Ryan in March 2006.

Judge Lord Mackay said McReath would have been sentenced to 10 years if he had not pleaded guilty.

He also ordered that McReath, from Bellshill in Lanarkshire, serve a seven year extended sentence when he will be kept under supervision.

Ryan served seven years for the murder of McReath's father, Ian, in 1975.

The court heard that McReath subsequently believed his mother was responsible for most of his problems.

On the night of the attack McReath and Ryan had an argument about family history and he left the house.

He later returned and said he wanted to apologise to her.

However, he went into the kitchen and emerged with a knife in each hand and began to attack her.

He was shouting: "I'm killing you. You killed my dad."

Others tried to disarm him and his mother took refuge in a bathroom.

McReath was restrained until police officers arrived and an ambulance was called to take his mother, who had suffered multiple injuries, to hospital.

The judge, who jailed him for six years and eight months, said there was "a considerable background" to the offence.

Defence counsel George Gebbie said McReath had a "fairly extensive criminal record" going back to his childhood.

A background report had suggested he could benefit from drug and alcohol counselling and a referral for anger management.