Man who killed roofer in fight over money gets unpaid work

A man who was convicted of killing another man after a fight over money has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.

Rodney Shaw, 52, punched and pushed David McGuinness, 30, during their disagreement at industrial estate in Stonehaven in September 2023.

Mr McGuinness suffered a cardiac arrest and died in hospital - it later emerged he had an undiagnosed heart condition.

Shaw, of Montrose, Angus, had denied culpable homicide, but a jury previously found him guilty.

At the High Court in Aberdeen on Friday, he was ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.

There were angry scenes in the courtroom as relatives of Mr McGuiness reacted to the sentence.

The trial had heard that the two men, who both worked in the roofing trade, were seen getting into a heated confrontation on 26 September, 2023.

Mr McGuinness, of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, had said he was going to speak to Shaw about money he claimed he was was owed.

Shaw said if that was the case, it was a third party who owed the money.

The two men became embroiled in a physical struggle, and Mr McGuinness was then seen to fall to the ground.

The court heard the whole incident lasted only 48 seconds.

Mr McGuinness was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Shaw claimed he had been acting in self defence, but the jury rejected that and convicted him of culpable homicide by assaulting Mr McGuinness, punching him, and pushing him towards a vehicle, as a result of which he suffered a cardiac arrest.

The jury deleted an element of the charge that said the assault had caused Mr McGuiness's head to strike the vehicle.

Defending, John Scullion KC said Shaw had expressed regret and remorse for the entirely "tragic and unexpected" consequences.

He said Shaw only had a minor road traffic matter to his name before the incident with Mr McGuinness, and also cared for his wife.

Mr Scullion described the actual level of violence in the struggle between the two men as minimal.

Judge Andrew Miller said he had decided it was an exceptional case where the public interest did not demand a custodial sentence.

He said Mr McGuinness had been described as aggressive at the time of the incident, and then the physical confrontation took place.

Judge Miller noted: "You each had the opportunity to avoid what happened next."

He said the men had wrestled with each other, and the jury was satisfied he had assaulted Mr McGuinness.

He said the heart condition Mr McGuinness had not been known to anyone.

He said the death was not intended, or anticipated, by anyone.

The judge said the death of Mr McGuinness at the age of only 30, leaving four children, had a profound impact.

But he accepted Shaw continued to feel genuine remorse, and there was significant mitigation in the case.

The judge said the 300 hours of community service was a direct alternative to custody.

Outside court, Lyn Falconer, 49, the mother of Mr McGuinness, said that she was angry at the outcome.

"David was, in my eyes, an angel," she added.

His sister Abbie McGuinness, 29, said her brother was dead but Shaw now got to go home to his family.

In a statement at the time of his death, the family of Mr McGuinness had said: "David was a much loved son, partner, brother, uncle and doting father to his four young children.

"He will be sorely missed every day by all who knew him. The family are absolutely devastated by what has happened."