SENTENCING STATEMENTS

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HMA v Kyle Shanley & Kevin Shanley

Mar 13, 2026

At the High Court in Glasgow, Judge D Brown imposed a life sentence on Kevin Shanley for the murder of Brian Gough. Shanley must serve a minimum period of 16 years before applying for parole. Kyle Shanley received a 3 year prison term for assault with a weapon.

Judge Brown made the following comments when delivering sentence:

"On 30 January 2026 you Kyle Shanley were convicted after trial of assaulting Brian Gough on 18 May 2024 by repeatedly attempting to strike him on the head and body with a knife and you Kevin Shanley were convicted of murdering him by striking him on the body with a knife.

The incident was captured on various CCTV cameras. Mr Gough was someone you apparently knew in that there was an initial friendly interaction when he and a female companion met the two of you in Saracen Street around 5pm on 18 May.

However, for some reason which was not explained at the trial, shortly after Kevin Shanley left to go back into a nearby close where he lived, the atmosphere changed, you Kyle Shanely and Mr Gough were pushing each other and he then punched you on the face. This was a single punch and the injury caused was fairly minor.

You Kyle Shanley then apparently decided to take revenge, you made a phone call and shortly afterwards Kevin Shanley came back out of the close armed with a knife. The two of you headed towards Mr Gough. The woman he was with tried to protect him by standing in your way and during this confrontation the knife fell to the ground.

You Kyle Shanley picked it up, ran round her and towards Mr Gough and repeatedly swiped at him with the knife, though without making contact. He backed away and entered a shop. The two of you still appeared to be intent on attacking him and again the same woman stood in your way and tried to stop that happening.

However, you Kevin Shanley got hold of the knife, ran round her and into the shop, confronted Mr Gough and struck him one blow with the knife to his chest before running back out. Shortly afterwards he collapsed to the floor apparently unconscious.

By the time an emergency medical team arrived his heart had stopped but they managed through surgical intervention at the scene to restart it. However the stab wound had penetrated his heart and further surgical intervention at hospital could not prevent his death, the cause of death being a single stab wound to the heart.

Mr Gough was aged 27 at the time and it is a tragedy that his life was ended at such an early stage. His family submitted to the court a detailed victim impact statement in which they describe him as having been the centre of their universe and say that the impact of losing him in such an unnatural and devastating way at such a young age is almost impossible to express in words, that it has caused a traumatic rippling effect throughout the whole extended family and that it was the emotional equivalent of an atomic bomb which has left a chasm of sorrow and grief. Nothing I can say or do today can adequately reflect their loss.

Dealing first with the less serious aspect of this case involving you Kyle Shanley, I take into account that in attacking Mr Gough with a knife you were reacting to being punched by him - though in a grossly excessive way, and that you did not cause any actual harm to him – though this was due to the fact that he managed to avoid the blows rather than any lack of effort on your part.

Any attack with a knife is however liable to result in a substantial sentence because it is such a dangerous weapon and your criminal record is an aggravating factor in that it includes two previous convictions involving a weapon, the first being a conviction at summary level in 2017 for assault with a bottle and the second being a conviction at solemn level in 2019 for possession of an offensive weapon, namely a hammer, and which resulted in a sentence of 11 months’ imprisonment.

In these circumstances the sentence is 3 years’ imprisonment backdated to 23 May 2024 when you were first remanded in custody.

In relation to you Kevin Shanley the sentence for murder is fixed by law as imprisonment for life and that is the sentence I impose. I also have to fix a period of time, known as the punishment part, which is the minimum period you must serve before you can be considered for release.

In selecting the punishment part, I take account of the fact that there was a single blow with the knife and that according to the consultant forensic pathologist who gave evidence at the trial, there was nothing to indicate anything more than the use of mild force.

I also take account of the facts that you have only two minor previous convictions and have never previously been sentenced to imprisonment. In these circumstances the punishment part is 16 years. This does not mean that you will be released after 16 years. What it means is that you can only apply for release after you have served that period of 16 years. This part of the sentence reflects the sentencing aims of punishment and deterrence but does not include any element in respect of public protection. That element will only be considered if and when you apply for release and it will be for the Parole Board to decide whether you should be released. If you are released, you will be subject to licence conditions for the rest of your life and will be liable to be recalled to prison if you do not comply with any of those conditions.

This sentence will run from 23 May 2024 when you were first remanded in custody."

13 March 2026