Man stabbed teenage boy to death with pair of scissors

A 21-year-old man has been convicted of stabbing an innocent teenage boy to death with a pair of scissors.

Connor McMath struck Sean Ford, 15, in the neck in front of other stunned youngsters.

Prosecutors said Sean had “done nothing” wrong, adding that he was being a peacemaker after a friend had been assaulted at a flat in Wishaw, Lanarkshire on March 7, 2020.

McMath fled the scene leaving his stricken victim, who never survived the attack.

The thug went on to confess to a number of relatives he had “stabbed” someone.

He now faces a life sentence after he was found guilty of murder following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

One witness told how McMath was “acting hard” before the killing. He had joined a number of youngsters at the flat along with 18 year-old Derek Paton.

Jurors heard claims it was there Paton assaulted a 15 year-old boy, who was Sean’s friend.

Sean, of Wishaw, came into the room and stated: “What are you doing that for? That’s my pal.”

As the schoolboy then sat down, McMath suddenly lashed out for no apparent reason.

A 13-year-old girl told the trial: “He took scissors out of his pocket and, the next thing I knew, there was blood everywhere.”

As a dying Sean begged for help, the killer fled from the flat.

A 999 call was made as a 14-year-old girl gave Sean CPR. But the teenager died from a stab wound to the neck.

McMath, also of Wishaw, texted his grandfather asking to stay with him. In a message, he stated: “I have stabbed someone in the neck…like an idiot.”

McMath also confessed to his parents. Asked why he had attacked someone, he replied: “Don’t know.”

McMath denied murder, claiming self-defence and that he had not aimed the scissors at Sean.

But in his closing speech, prosecutor Chris McKenna told jurors: “Sean Ford had done nothing to justify what happened to him – far from it.

“The evidence suggests he was trying to calm the situation down.”

Lord Matthews remanded McMath in custody and adjourned sentencing for reports.