Daniel Connelly: Dalkeith man who fatally stabbed his own brother walks free from court

A man who told jurors he acted in self defence when he killed his younger brother has walked free after being acquitted of a culpable homicide charge.

Cleared by a jury. Daniel Connelly

Daniel Connelly, 29, stabbed Luke Connelly in the leg after the pair fell out with each other at his home in Newtongrange, Midlothian on February 9 2020.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard Connelly say he panicked in the moments before he struck 25-year-old Luke with a blade.

He said that Luke had climbed on top of him and had been choking him which had caused him to lose consciousness.

Luke Connelly was fatally stabbed by his own brother. (Picture: Contributed"

Connelly told jurors that he picked up the knife in the hope of scaring his brother off.

But he said that they moved towards each other and the knife struck Luke on his leg causing him to sustain a fatal injury.

Connelly told jurors: “I felt the knife going into his leg. i panicked. I took the knife out and i threw it away and I laid him down on the mattress.

“When I took the knife out. He said ‘you’ve stabbed me’

“I was constantly asking him if he was ok.

The case for abolishing the 'not proven' verdict

Connelly, of Dalkeith, said he was detained by police shortly after the assault and was told by officers that his brother had died.

He admitted killing Luke but said he acted in self defence and pleaded not guilty to a charge of being responsible for the culpable homicide of his brother.

A jury returned a verdict of not proven and he walked free from the court.

During proceedings, police who attended the first floor flat after the stabbing found the injured brother on a mattress with the accused performing CPR on him.

The court heard that Connelly seemed "very distressed" and said: "It's my brother." Paramedics arrived and saw Luke had a wound to his thigh and learnt that police had found a kitchen knife.

Connelly's girlfriend said she had been at home with him at the flat and they had a couple of drinks while Luke was on a night out in Dalkeith.

Melissa Laidlaw,23, told jurors that she suggested to Daniel that he invite his brother to the flat after his night out.

She said they were sitting talking after the younger sibling arrived and at one stage the brothers were playing a Fifa game.

The bank worker said that the atmosphere was fine but changed and she said she remembered Luke calling his brother "skinny".

She said: "The next thing I remember is Luke being over Daniel with his hand around his throat. He was trying to get him off. Luke was on the floor and Daniel was standing over him."

Miss Laidlaw said the brothers were close and would speak every day.

Connelly told the court that his brother was upset from a relationship which ended earlier in the week and both were drinking but Luke became more drunk as the evening progressed and they started arguing about “random things.”

He said that they started exchanging punches and that Luke got him on the ground and that he put a hand on his throat.

Connelly said he thought he passed out and when he came to he managed to get Luke off him and the pair stood up.

He added: “He threatened to effing kill me. Melissa asked him to leave. The look in his eye was not something I had ever seen before. The look was one of pure rage. I had never seen it before.

“I thought he was going to klll me.”

He told the court that he picked up the knife from the kitchen in the hope of trying to stop his brother from continuing the fight.

READ MORE: Musselburgh man stabbed friend 18 times and torched his body after motorbike crash

In her closing speech, prosecutor Leanne McQuillan urged jurors to convict Connelly saying the evidence showed that he had used disproportionate force.

She added: “When you have considered the evidence you should have no reasonable doubt about the guilt of the accused and find him guilty of the charge libelled against him.”

Defence advocate Shelagh McCall QC said that Connelly had no other choice in the circumstances.

Ms McCall added: “You should have no doubt that the prosecution has failed to prove its case.”

Judge Lady Carmichael told Connelly he could leave the dock and he was consoled by crying family members.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.