'I am a murderer and I like it' - Edinburgh teen killer boasts after stabbing man to death

The trial took place at the High Court in Glasgow. Picture: John Devlin

Daniel Brown attacked Daryl Nimmo, 25, at a flat in Dalry, North Ayrshire, in April.

The 19-year-old was let go by police just 24 hours earlier having being caught with two knives in Edinburgh.

He was then free to kill Mr Nimmo, whom he had only recently met for the first time.

Brown later told police how his victim “begged for mercy” as he carried out the savage attack.

The teenager now faces a life sentence after he admitted to a murder charge at the High Court in Glasgow.

Brown will learn the minimum he will spend in jail next month.

On 12 April – the day before the killing – Brown was held by police in Edinburgh.

He was charged after being found with a knife in his waistband as well as another hidden in his sock.

Prosecutor Owen Mullan said: “He was informed that he would be reported to the procurator fiscal and was left in the care of staff at a hostel where he was living.”

Brown went on to take a taxi from Edinburgh to Dalry to visit his mother’s friend Linda O’Neil.

Ms O’Neil was in a relationship with Mr Nimmo at the time.

Brown claimed he was visiting as he had fallen out with his own girlfriend.

The next day, Brown had a disturbing call with his mother hours before the murder.

Mr Mullan said: “He made a Facebook video call and brandished a machete-type knife threatening to stab people.”

Brown later joined Ms O’Neil and Mr Nimmo at her home.

The couple went to bed before Ms O’Neil was awoken by a blood-soaked Brown shouting: “I’ve killed somebody.”

She had not been aware of Mr Nimmo having earlier got up.

Ms O’Neil discovered her lover slumped against a door. Brown claimed he had kicked Mr Nimmo in the head “to make sure he was dead”.

The killer then escaped through a window he smashed.

Police and paramedics soon arrived. Brown hurled a knife at an ambulance at one stage.

But he went on to boast: “I f*****g stabbed him. I am a murderer and I like it.”

Brown later said it was the “first time” he had met Mr Nimmo.

In a confession, he added: “I can still see his face begging me to stop. I can see his face begging me for mercy. I was jumping on his face. He’s not coming back, he’s dead. I kept stabbing and stabbing him.”

The court heard Brown appeared to become “fed up” as detectives quizzed him.

One officer put to him that “a young man was lying dead”.

Brown replied: “Shit happens.”

Mr Nimmo was found to have ten wounds to his neck and chest. He also had injuries to his arm, hands, head and stomach.

The court was told Brown, of West Pilton, Edinburgh, had convictions for having offensive weapons.

He was also guilty of an assault a month before the murder.

His lawyer Gordon Martin told the court: “He deeply regrets his conduct. During the police interview, he said something like: ‘It was two lives wasted last night’. This is how he feels about matters.”

Lord Matthews remanded him in custody as sentencing was deferred for reports.