A jury in a murder trial has been urged to convict both men who allegedly carried out a “cold-blooded, murderous attack” on a Peterhead dad-of-two.
All evidence has now been heard in the trial over the death of 52-year-old Andrew Ross, who was repeatedly stabbed outside an Ives Road flat in the town on February 5 this year.
Brothers Luke Allan, 28, and Ethan Carlyle, 23, both deny murdering Mr Ross.
Mr Ross died from multiple stab wounds with one fatal blow piercing his heart causing him massive blood loss and cardiac arrest.
The court previously heard Mr Ross had gone to the address on Ives Road with Barry Middleton to steal drugs from the occupant, Luke Allan.
‘Armed to the teeth’
In her closing speech to the jury, advocate depute Lindsey Dalziel urged them to convict both men of murder and said: “Luke Allan was dealing controlled drugs and was profiting from the blight and destitution they bring to the streets of Peterhead.
“He had armed himself to the teeth, in the event someone was so bold as to rob drugs or money from him.”
She told the jurors that Mr Ross and his associate Mr Middleton had gone to Allan’s flat on Ives Road knowing that Allan would “not just hand over” his drugs.
Explaining that they had taken a crowbar along with them and they later fled the scene, she added: “Matters could have ended there, matters should have ended there.
‘Cold-blooded’
“But what happened was a frenzied cold-blooded attack – a murderous attack by two brothers acting in concert, which was grossly disproportionate to anything that went before it – ending with Andrew Ross’ blood pooled on the street.
“There is no room for acquittal here – they are both guilty of murder. They showed utter disregard for Andrew Ross or whether he lived or died.
“They were all in it together.”
The court was previously shown CCTV footage showing Allan and Carlyle chasing and attacking Mr Ross before he gets up and eventually collapses dead on the road.
Video footage played
“The camera does not lie,” Ms Dalziel continued. “These two men were literally running for their lives.
“This was a frenzied attack you saw with your own eyes.”
Ethan Carlyle’s defence counsel Gareth Jones KC asked the jury to convict his client only of an assault, adding: “His criminality falls short of murder and amounts to nothing more than assault under these circumstances and from extreme provocation.
“All the fatal blows to Mr Ross were stab wounds to his chest – which Luke Allan caused.
“Ethan Carlyle does strike a blow to Mr Ross’s leg – but by then the damage was done and this was non-fatal.”
Allan’s defence counsel Brian McConnachie KC asked the jurors to convict his client of a lesser charge of culpable homicide and said: “Luke Allan is no murderer – he retaliated and attacked to protect his younger brother, to protect himself and his dogs and money – but he went too far.
“He took a life, but he did not murder him.”
Mr McConnachie said Allan had been attacked with a lethal weapon inside his home and had “lost control” and retaliated with a lethal weapon, adding: “Unfortunately it resulted in death.”
The jury, of seven women and eight men, is expected to retire to consider their verdicts later this morning.
