Killer stabbed man in heart at girlfriend's flat in Perth
A man who fatally stabbed another man in the heart after finding him at his former girlfriend's flat has been convicted of culpable homicide.
Robbie Smullen, 23, attacked Barry Dixon, 22, with a knife in Wallace Court, Perth, on 4 June 2019. Smullen denied a murder charge, maintaining he acted in self defence. A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found him guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide. His mother, Mary Smullen, 46, previously admitted a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice on the day of the attack. She pretended to police officers that the crime had been committed by Smullen's former girlfriend Shannon Beattie, knowing that her son had stabbed Mr Dixon. A judge deferred sentence on the two for the preparation of background reports until next month. Mary Smullen was allowed bail while her son was held in custody. 'Nothing sexual' The court heard that before the attack, Robbie Smullen had argued with Ms Beattie, the mother of his child, as she suspected he was the father of another woman's baby. She had asked him and his friends to leave her flat, which she shared with Smullen at the time, and they eventually did. Ms Beattie, 25, said she met with up with Mr Dixon before returning to her flat where they were drinking. She said that nothing sexual occurred between them. The court heart that Mr Dixon was in his boxer shorts when Smullen, who had also been drinking, arrived at the flat in the early hours of the morning. A fight then broke out between the two men. Smullen alleged that he became aware of a knife in Mr Dixon's hand and grabbed his arm and they tripped and fell during a struggle. Mr Dixon was taken to Dundee's Ninewells Hospital but died during efforts to repair the injury.