Gang jailed for at least 81 years over murder of man stabbed in the heart

Four men have been jailed for a total of at least 81 years over the murder of a man who was stabbed in the heart.

Tony Ferns, 33, was fatally attacked while sitting in his car in Thornliebank, East Renfrewshire, in April 2019. He managed to drive a short distance to his home, where paramedics fought to save his life, but he died with his mother and partner watching on.

Craig Colquhoun, 39, Joseph McCulloch, 50, Raymond Platt, 56, and Robert Park, 69, were on Wednesday convicted of murder following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. All four were handed life sentences, with Colquhoun and Park both sentenced to at least 20 years in jail, McCulloch 18 years, and Platt 23 years.

Judge Lord Fairley said Park was found to have shown "prior malice" to Mr Ferns and was the "instigator of the murder". Platt was the knifeman and Colquhoun the getaway driver.

McCulloch was not present when the stabbing took place but played a material part in the murderous plan. Lord Fairley told killer Platt: "This was not, as is sometimes seen in these courts, a fight that got out of hand.

This was a targeted and premeditated assassination." The court heard how Platt's past criminal record included jail time for culpable homicide and attempted murder. Detective Chief Inspector Ally Semple said the complex investigation spanned several years with "more than 1,100 people spoken to, many hours of CCTV footage examined, and painstaking analytical work conducted".

Read more from Sky News:How rape victim tried to track down attackerManhunt under way for Charlie Kirk's killer The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said in the immediate aftermath of the murder, three of the men "casually went to a barbeque". Prosecutor Moira Orr, national lead on homicide for COPFS, said: "These four individuals - Park, Platt, Colquhoun and McCulloch - together planned the murder of an innocent man on a public street.

"They callously organised themselves to murder Anthony Ferns in front of his partner and near his mother's home. "Prosecutors were able to demonstrate the actions of these men on the night of the murder - and in its immediate aftermath when three of them casually went to a barbecue.

"The family and loved ones of Mr Ferns have suffered trauma and loss. I hope they can feel some small comfort that justice has been served.

Our thoughts are with them now.".