Two jailed over 'brutal' mistaken identity murder

Two men have been jailed after a man was killed in a case of mistaken identity in Inverclyde.

Michael Beaton, 35, was struck by a car driven by his friend Richard Mullan and then stabbed by Alexander McQuillan as he lay injured in Greenock.

However, the High Court in Glasgow heard how Mullan, 21, and the victim were actually targeting McQuillan, 27, on the night of 26 November 2023.

McQuillan must serve at least 18 years in prison while Mullan was jailed for a minimum of 16 years.

The court heard Mullan struck Beaton during a chase while he was trying to hit co-accused McQuillan.

McQuillan then stabbed Beaton with a machete while he lay on the road badly injured.

The victim was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow but died from his injuries later that day.

McQuillan and Mullan pled guilty to separate murder charges at earlier hearings.

The judge told Mullan: "This was a deliberate and brutal act of extreme violence using your car as a deadly weapon."

He then told McQuillan: "While others were in the process of tending to Mr Beaton, you opportunistically and callously attacked him with machete.

"You did not know when you attacked him that he had already suffered unsurvivable injuries.

"The notion that this was to protect yourself was fanciful."

The court previously heard how Mullan and Beaton had been out in Greenock that night apparently searching for McQuillan.

The pair were in separate cars when they spotted McQuillan nearby.

McQuillan and an associate approached Beaton's car, the victim got out of the car and there was a "verbal exchange" between the three men.

McQuillan and his friend ran off down Drumfochar Road as Beaton chased on foot, with the engine to his Ford still running.

Mullan followed the three men in the stolen Audi at speed down the wrong side of the road.

Prosecutor David McLean KC said: "Mullan intended to strike McQuillan, but instead hit Mr Beaton, who was thrown onto the far side of the road.

"A voice could be heard on a CCTV recording saying 'ha, ha, he has just done his own pal'."

Not realising his error, Mullan then ploughed into him a second time before racing off.

Meanwhile, McQuillan hid in a nearby building while witnesses went to help Beaton.

McQuillan soon emerged from the building with a machete and attacked the injured man.

He then jumped into Beaton's vehicle and initially stopped at a car park, before travelling to his sister's house and finally his own home.

Beaton was unconscious when taken to hospital but died after emergency surgery.

He suffered multiple injuries as a result of being hit by the Audi as well as a number of wounds from the machete.

McQuillan already had a lengthy list of convictions and was previously jailed for three years at the High Court for aggravated assault.

Mullan was arrested having initially gone to Spain after the killing.

Brian McConnachie KC, defending, said: "Due to confusion, what occurred, as a result, was that he murdered - other than his own mother - the closest person to him in his life.

"The fact that he effectively killed his best friend weighs heavily on him.

"Mr Beaton had been a father figure in his life. Although the family can never forgive him, he does offer his sorrow and regret to them."

Thomas Ross KC, defending McQuillan, said the court may consider his attack on a stricken Beaton as showing "a level of callousness that is impossible to mitigate".