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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| 25 years for torture killing pair | 25 years for torture killing pair |
| (39 minutes later) | |
| Two men who admitted torturing and killing a man with learning difficulties in his Fife home have been jailed for a total of 25 years. | Two men who admitted torturing and killing a man with learning difficulties in his Fife home have been jailed for a total of 25 years. |
| Barry Kidd and Stuart Whyte punched and kicked Mark White and left him locked in his Glenrothes house with a plastic bag over his head last November. | Barry Kidd and Stuart Whyte punched and kicked Mark White and left him locked in his Glenrothes house with a plastic bag over his head last November. |
| The 31-year-old died of hypothermia. His body was found later after his father raised the alarm. | The 31-year-old died of hypothermia. His body was found later after his father raised the alarm. |
| At the High Court in Edinburgh, Kidd and Whyte admitted culpable homicide. | At the High Court in Edinburgh, Kidd and Whyte admitted culpable homicide. |
| Police said Mr White had suffered a "horrific ordeal". | Police said Mr White had suffered a "horrific ordeal". |
| A judge told the pair at the High Court in Edinburgh that their crime had been "wicked and callous". | A judge told the pair at the High Court in Edinburgh that their crime had been "wicked and callous". |
| Lord Brodie said: "You attacked and robbed a young man with learning difficulties who was described as a popular and well-known member of the community." | |
| Despite all his difficulties he was able to reside on his own and lived a simplistic and very routine way of life Ashley EdwardsAdvocate depute | |
| The judge pointed out that both had previous convictions for housebreaking and sentenced them to 12 and half years imprisonment each. | |
| Kidd, 28, and Whyte, 29, were originally charged with murdering their victim at his home on 21 November last year. | |
| But the Crown accepted their guilty pleas to the reduced charge of culpable homicide. | |
| They gained entry to the house and attacked the victim after using the pretence of being utility firm employees. | |
| Mr White was repeatedly punched and kicked, pinned to the ground and put in a headlock. A knife was put to his face and a plastic bag put over his head and bound with tape. | |
| His hands and feet were taped and his head was stamped on before he was dragged into a cupboard. | |
| He was confined in the house after the robbery with doors being locked and keys taken. | |
| Advocate depute Ashley Edwards said of Mr White: "He was a vulnerable, trusting person with learning difficulties which were the result of complications during his birth." | |
| "Despite all his difficulties he was able to reside on his own and lived a simplistic and very routine way of life." | |
| Fractured ribs | |
| Six days after the assault the victim's father, Robert, became concerned at the lack of contact from his son and asked a family friend to investigate. | |
| Miss Edwards said pathologists decided that the victim had died from hypothermia following blood loss from a scalp wound after the assault. | |
| The bruised and battered assault victim, who had fractured ribs, appeared to have managed to free himself from his bindings but got into a confused state. | |
| She said: "For the deceased the events, involving both the accused, were a new experience and it appears he did not know how to deal with it. | |
| "Despite the presence of a phone in the house he did not phone his parents or the emergency services." |