Killer who was caught on camera fatally stabbing unarmed man outside his home jailed for life

A killer who was caught on camera fatally stabbing an unarmed man outside his home has been jailed for life for the murder.

Paul Menzies, 45, attacked his victim, who had put his arms up showing there was nothing in his hands, in a flat stairwell in Edinburgh.

Brian Ramsay was found dead in his flat on Westfield Road by police after suffering a single stab wound to the abdomen.

Jurors at the High Court in Edinburgh were shown CCTV footage of the attack in the stairwell, which also featured an audio recording, with the killer announcing he was Paul Menzies before committing the fatal assault.

Menzies said he was one of a group of people who had gathered at Mr Ramsay’s flat on June 6, 2024. He said he had taken a cocktail of drugs, including heroin, crack cocaine, valium and cannabis and fell into a state where he was basically comatose.

He said that when he came round, he found his bank card and money were missing and told the court: “I didn’t know who had taken it, so I just left.”

Menzies’ former girlfriend said that she was at another flat in the city when Menzies returned from visiting Mr Ramsay and appeared “very agitated”.

She said: “He said that he had gone to Brian Ramsay’s flat and there were other people there too. He had taken some drugs, and he had fallen asleep in Brian’s flat, and when he woke up, he checked his belongings, and his money and his bank card were missing from his wallet.”

She said he calmed down a bit and they later left Menzies’ address to go and buy drugs and went to the area where Mr Ramsay lived. She said Menzies and Mr Ramsay got into a confrontation in the street, with both of them shouting.

She said: “They were arguing about the incident earlier, and I do remember Brian saying ‘I didn’t take your money’.

The witness said she later learnt Mr Ramsay had died and contacted Menzies by phone to let him know. She told the court: “He said, ‘How will they know it’s me?'”

A resident at the flats who checked CCTV said that at first she thought it showed Mr Ramsay being punched, but when she looked at it again, she realised he was being stabbed. She contacted the police.

After the fatal attack, Menzies, who has previous convictions for assault, drugs and disorder offences and had been freed under two bail orders at the time of the murder, disposed of the weapon in the Water of Leith, where it was later recovered by police.

Menzies denied murdering Mr Ramsay by striking him on the body with a knife during a trial, but was found guilty of the crime.

During the proceedings, Menzies offered to plead guilty to the lesser offence of culpable homicide, admitting that he killed Mr Ramsay in the knife attack.

Lord Summers said: “It was a ferocious blow, delivered with considerable force, and he died shortly thereafter in his flat after catastrophic bleeding.”

A judge ordered that Menzies should serve at least 18 years in prison for the crime that claimed the life of the father-of-three.

Lord Summers told him that was the minimum period he must serve before he can seek release on parole but added: “You may never be released.”