An out-of-control knife attacker, fueled by alcohol and drugs, has been sentenced to life in prison after brutally stabbing a young man to death.

Caleb Ferguson has been ordered to serve a minimum of 16 years before he can apply for parole following the murder of 20-year-old Cameron Rae at a Perth apartment.

As Ferguson was led away from the dock at the High Court in Edinburgh to begin his sentence, cries of “f*****g rot” and “f*****g burn” were directed at him from public benches.

Ferguson, who was 18 at the time of the murder, stabbed his victim three times in the torso, a wound causing fatal internal injuries.

A judge told the killer that a victim impact statement provided by the deceased’s mother on behalf of her family described the ongoing daily impact of losing the beloved son and brother.

Lord Scott said: “She says Cameron’s death tore their family apart. »

Police Scotland

The judge said a background report prepared on Ferguson expanded on evidence heard at his previous trial regarding his excessive use of alcohol and cocaine at the time of the crime.

Lord Scott said: “In your own words, ‘at that point you were out of control.’ » He said the report detailed various adverse childhood experiences that continue to affect Ferguson.

He said to him: “I disregard what you told the author of the report about selling drugs for a long time to ensure a considerable income. »

Ferguson, now aged 20, had previously denied murdering Mr Rae on April 8 last year at an apartment on South Methven Street, Perth, by stabbing him repeatedly on the body with a knife, but he had been found guilty of the crime.

At the start of the trial, he admitted killing the victim after pleading guilty to the lesser offense of culpable homicide, but the Crown rejected that claim.

STV News

After the fatal attack, Ferguson fled through the streets of Perth before turning up at Arbroath police station hours later, wearing a change of clothes and claiming he had spent an evening in the town of ‘Angus and needed help getting back to Perth.

The court heard that after the murder Ferguson told his sister in a phone call that he had “pulled the shit out of” his victim.

A witness said he was in a Perth bar with others watching an Old Firm football match on television when Ferguson joined them.

He and Ferguson went to the apartment where the attack took place later to continue drinking. As he left the apartment he encountered Mr Rae, who had also been drinking, and invited him back to the property.

The witness said that at one point he left Ferguson and Mr Rae in the flat while he went on a drug deal. He returned to find Mr Rae injured and Ferguson looking angry.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Farrell told jurors at the earlier trial: “Caleb Ferguson said something about Cammy calling his father a drug addict and that appears to be the only explanation Caleb Ferguson offered as to why he stabbed Cameron Rae to death.”

The prosecutor said: “The evidence in this case shows a deadly attack demonstrating that the defendant Caleb Ferguson either intended to kill Cameron Rae or was cruelly reckless as to whether he lived or was dead. »

Defense barrister Richard Goddard KC said there was evidence the witness and Ferguson were on the phone immediately after the incident to emergency services trying to seek help for the deceased .

Mr Goddard asked the judge to take into account the Scottish guidelines for sentencing young people and said: “I would invite your Lordship to consider that a young person who it appears has suffered negative experiences in his childhood and who, at the time of this offense occurred, was in poor health.

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