Man jailed for killing stranger in street attack

A man who killed a former housing association chairman in a street attack has been jailed for six-and-a-half years.

Ethan O'Kane, 20, was part of an attack on John McLardie in Glasgow's Victoria Road in late April 2023.

The 68-year-old was pushed and punched, causing him to smack his head off the pavement. The former chair of the city's Govanhill Housing Association died months after the attack, having never recovered from the assault.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Arthurson told the killer, who claimed during the trial that he had only pushed the victim, that he needed to bear the consequences of his actions.

O'Kane had earlier been found guilty of culpable homicide.

Lord Arthurson said: "Rather than render assistance to your stricken victim, you promptly left the scene of the crime.

"This attack has had terrible and fatal consequences for your victim. It involved a single blow to a vulnerable man who was a complete stranger.

"You had smoked cannabis that day and you described your behaviour as impulsive."

The judge said O'Kane would one day be able to return to his life and family, adding:

"Mr McLardie cannot do so. His last days were spent bedbound, being fed by a tube, medicated for seizures and requiring the assistance of excellent care home staff."

"You must bear the consequences of your criminal conduct that day," he said.

O'Kane claimed during the trial that another young man, who he knew only as ST, had punched the victim.

O'Kane said he had no idea the individual he knew as ST was going to strike McLardie and that he felt "horrible" about what happened.

The incident was captured on CCTV and the footage showed McLardie - who lived locally - falling to the ground.

O'Kane told jurors that any suggestion he punched the victim was "completely wrong".

The attackers fled the scene and O'Kane went to a flat nearby. He said he was not aware McLardie was injured.

He told the trial he found out about the death days after McLardie died on 31 December 2023.

Defence advocate Allan MacLeod said O'Kane was "reflective" about what happened and that the killer "does not like the person he was three years ago".

He stated in a pre-sentencing report that he "knows the damage that he has done" and "thinks about Mr McLardie every day".

Tributes were paid to the victim following his death.

Govanhill Housing Association - where he had been chairman up until 2023 - described him as "a very active and much-loved member of our community. He will be sorely missed."

Det Insp Gordon Walker said the victim had suffered a "shocking and unprovoked attack".

He added: "This senseless violence had tragic consequences, and our thoughts remain with John's family and friends who have also suffered immensely."