Fife man jailed for killing man in hammer attack over drug debt
- Published
A convicted drug trafficker who killed a man in a hammer attack in Fife has been jailed for eight years.
William Richardson turned up at a house in Kelty and went into a bedroom where Colin Oliphant had been resting and repeatedly assaulted him.
Mr Oliphant, who owed £200 for drugs he used himself, died shortly afterwards from chest trauma complications. He had 39 injuries.
Richardson later handed himself in to police and admitted culpable homicide.
A judge told Richardson, from Glasgow, at the High Court in Edinburgh: "This was a savage assault with a weapon. It resulted in another man's death.
"His young daughter has lost her father."
The judge added he accepted Richardson had expressed "genuine remorse" over the offence.
Lord Woolman told him he would have jailed him for 12 years for the crime, but for his guilty plea.
During the fatal attack other people in the house heard Mr Oliphant say: "Sorry Willie, don't hit me, stop it Willie. What are you doing with that....dinnae, dinnae."
Richardson then emerged from the room with his injured victim walking behind him before the killer told him "you know I am a boxer" and then punched him on the nose.
Richardson, who was jailed for heroin supply in 2013, drove off from the house with others and was described as acting "full of bravado", the court heard.
Det Insp Stuart Alexander, of Police Scotland, said: "Colin was the victim of a brutal attack causing injuries that ultimately led to his death.
"Richardson has admitted that his actions caused Colin's death and I hope that this, alongside the sentence, can help Colin's loved ones to move forward with their lives."
- 5 January 2018
