By Grâçia Ada Obi
A teenager has been jailed for a minimum of 17 years after he murdered a man while on bail after attacking another young person with a knife.
The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, killed John McNab, 22, with a knife outside a block of flats in Edinburgh, United Kingdom (UK) in September 2025.
The stabbing came after the teenager assaulted a 16-year-old boy by slashing him on the back in the Portobello area of the city in March 2025.
He pleaded guilty to murder and assault at a hearing last month, the Crown Office said.
The teenager was given a life sentence and ordered to spend a minimum of 17 years behind bars when he was sentenced at the High Court in Dundee on Thursday 4 June 2026, court officials confirmed.
He was on bail at the time of the murder following the earlier incident.
In his sentencing statement Lord Harrower said: “You have been convicted of the murder of John McNab, a young man who had everything to live for and whose loss has left an incalculable void in the lives of his family and friends.
“The incident was caught on CCTV, and the recording played in court.
“Those present will never forget what they saw and heard: John McNab being chased by you along Great Junction Street in Leith, pleading with you for his life, as he realised he could no longer outrun you, and the sound of his screams as he lay helpless on the ground while you repeatedly plunged your knife into his body.
“At the time you committed this horrific crime, you were just 16 years old.
“You were also on bail, having only six months previously assaulted another boy with a knife to his severe injury.”
Lord Harrower said the murder was a “conspicuous example of a premeditated knife crime, in which the fatal blow was inflicted with considerable force”.
Speaking outside court after the sentencing, the diseased mother and a care support worker appealed for tougher rules on bail for people accused of inflicting serious injury with knives.
She said: “What makes the loss even harder to bear is knowing that six months before John was killed, the person in question had stabbed another young person. Despite that, he was released on bail and allowed back onto the street.
“No sentence will ever bring John back. No punishment can repair the damage that has been done to our family. Our family has been given a life sentence of grief.
Laura Buchan, legal director with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), warned young people against carrying knives.
She said: “Within Scotland’s prosecution service, we have seen too many cases where young people carrying knives has led to loss of life.
“Families are left devastated and communities can be left living in fear.
“The murder of John McNab shows the serious and tragic harm caused when someone chooses to carry and use a bladed weapon.
“At just 17, the offender now faces time in custody and a lifelong criminal record because of his deliberate actions.
“That cannot compare to the lasting loss suffered by John’s family, and our thoughts remain with them.
“We hope this conviction sends a clear message to young people. Carrying a knife or other bladed weapon is illegal and can have lifelong consequences.
“It can cause serious and lasting harm – to you, your family, your friends and to others.
“COPFS will continue to do all we can to ensure those responsible for this type of crime are held to account.”
