Pair get life for street murder

Nov 9 2012

Two men have been given life sentences for the "brutal and merciless" murder of a man outside his home.

Asif Rehman, 20, and Adel Ishaq, 20, knocked William McKeeney unconscious and repeatedly stamped on his head and body in the street in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow on January 15.

The 57-year-old was walking home from a nearby pub with a fish supper when he was set upon by the pair in an attack witnessed by Mr McKeeney's girlfriend from the window of their home.

The "friendly and popular working man" died later in hospital.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lord Uist ordered Rehman to spend at least 16 years and three months behind bars while Ishaq was told he will be detained for a minimum of 16 years.

The judge said the "ferocity" of the attack led Mr McKeeney's girlfriend to believe they were breaking up a piece of furniture. It was not until she was able to get a better look that she realised it was a person.

Lord Uist said both men had been roaming the streets "looking for trouble" on the night of the murder.

"For no reason whatsoever, he was set upon by you two and subjected to a brutal and merciless attack which robbed him of his life," he said.

"It is a shocking indictment of the state of our society that an innocent man should be murdered in a public street outside his own home in this manner. Senseless violence of this kind must be suppressed so public safety can be maintained."

Rehman and Ishaq were convicted of the murder last month after a trial at the High Court in Kilmarnock.