A KILLER who stabbed

a man to death following an allegation the victim had broken a car window has been jailed for life.

Stephen Kane, 21, was ordered to serve at least 16 years in prison following the murder of Lee Monaghan.

Kane had been told by his brother the window of his car had been smashed by Mr Monaghan. But Lord Clark said at the High Court in Edinburgh it was not known who had damaged the vehicle.

He said Kane had then armed himself with knives and gone looking for Mr Monaghan, 23, in his home town of Greenock.

The judge said: “You stabbed him three times in the legs. One of the knife blows you struck proved to be fatal.”

The fatal wound severed a major artery, resulting in the victim bleeding to death following the attack on August 24 last year.

Lord Clark said: “His mother was at the scene trying to phone an ambulance. He died in front of her.”

The judge said information before him confirmed how profound the effect of her son’s loss had been to her.He saidthe mother, family and friends have been left to deal with the loss of a much-loved young man.

Lord Clark told Kane: “It is clear you have expressed remorse for your actions.”

He said he took into account Kane’s relatively young age and lack of a criminal record, but also had regard to the seriousness of the crime of

murder and the killer’s crime was planned and premeditated.

Kane had offered to plead guilty to the lesser offence of culpable homicide but was convicted of murdering Mr Monaghan at an earlier trial.