Partner killed in row over CD

Published 18 Nov 2009 10:00

A MUM-OF-TWO killed her partner in their Alloa home with a single blow through the heart after a row about music.

Andrea Neil (34) was originally charged with murdering 46-year-old Robert Hamilton.

But at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, Neil admitted the reduced charge of culpable homicide.

The court was told that Neil and her partner of two years rowed around 4am on 10 May this year, at the house they shared in Mull Court.

Prosecutor Jock Thomson QC said, "There was an argument about what music to play. The argument got so heated that the accused asked Mr Hamilton to leave, but he refused.

"Mr Hamilton attempted to throw a television at Neil. He then pulled her to the kitchen floor by her hair and a struggle ensued. She grabbed at a knife which was lying on a kitchen counter and stabbed him on the left side of the his chest. Mr Hamilton staggered a few steps and then collapsed in the hallway."

Mr Hamilton, who had an 11-year-old daughter and an adopted daughter, died later that morning in hospital.

The court was told that when Neil realised Mr Hamilton was seriously injured she phoned a friend and said, "You'll need to help me."

When the friend arrived she found Neil, whose clothing was heavily blood-stained, screaming hysterically and saying, "I think he's dead."

The court heard that Neil also contacted Mr Hamilton's sister Evelyn and told her, "I've plunged him."

During a police interview Neil confessed she stabbed Mr Hamilton as a result of an argument about a music CD.

She told them, "I grabbed the knife. He came for me and I stabbed him once."

The court heard that Mr Hamilton was rushed to Stirling Royal Infirmary where doctors battled in vain to save him.

A post mortem examination revealed that the knife wound penetrated the left side of his heart and he suffered massive blood loss.

Mr Thomson added, "The impact of the crime had a devastating effect for all those involved.

"Mr Hamilton was an extremely well-liked man."

Because of this incident the accused's children have been split up.

Defence QC Donald Findlay said, "The pathologist is of the opinion that it was a sharp knife and wouldn't require much force, and could be inflicted in a struggle without the person knowing they had done it.

"This was an argument where the television was thrown. There was provocative conduct. The plea was tendered on the basis it was a single blow. This was a night that went appallingly, tragically wrong and from the outset she has owned up to her responsibility."

Judge Lord Pentland remanded Neil in custody and deferred sentence until next month at the High Court in Edinburgh for background reports.

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