A local man who claimed he acted in self defence when he killed his younger brother has walked free from Edinburgh High Court.
Daniel Connelly, walked free from court today after being acquitted of the culpable homicide charge.
The 29-year-old, stabbed his brother Luke Connelly in the leg after the pair fell out with each other after a drunken night ended in violence.
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The tragedy occurred at his home in Newtongrange, Midlothian on February 9 2020.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard Mr Connelly say he panicked in the moments before he struck 25-year-old Luke with a blade.
He said that Luke had climbed on top of him and had been choking him which had caused him to lose consciousness.
Mr Connelly told jurors that he picked up the knife in the hope of scaring his brother off.
But he said that they moved towards each other and the knife struck Luke on his leg causing him to sustain a fatal injury.
Mr Connelly told jurors: “I felt the knife going into his leg. I panicked. I took the knife out and I threw it away and I laid him down on the mattress.
“When I took the knife out. He said ‘you’ve stabbed me’
“I was constantly asking him if he was ok.
Mr Connelly said he was detained by police shortly after the assault. Recalling the moment he learned that his brother had died, Mr Connelly said: “I was in the police station. A police officer came in and told me that my brother had passed away.”
The evidence emerged during a trial in which Mr Connelly, of Dalkeith, Midlothian, pleaded not guilty to a charge being responsible for the culpable homicide of his brother Luke.
He admitted killing Luke but said he acted in self defence.
On Friday, jurors returned a verdict of not proven to the charge.
During proceedings, police who attended the first floor flat after the stabbing found the injured brother on a mattress with the accused performing CPR on him.
The court heard that Connelly seemed "very distressed" and said: "It's my brother." Paramedics arrived and saw the injured man had a wound to his thigh and learnt that police had found a kitchen knife.
Connelly's girlfriend said she had been at home with him at the flat and they had a couple of drinks while Luke was on a night out in Dalkeith.
Melissa Laidlaw, 23, told jurors that she suggested to Daniel that he invite his brother to the flat after his night out.
She said they were sitting talking after the younger sibling arrived and at one stage the brothers were playing a Fifa game.
The bank worker said that the atmosphere was fine but changed and she said she remembered Luke calling his brother "skinny".
She said: "The next thing I remember is Luke being over Daniel with his hand around his throat. He was trying to get him off. Luke was on the floor and Daniel was standing over him."
Miss Laidlaw said the brothers were close and would speak every day.
Mr Connelly told the court that his brother was upset from a relationship which ended earlier in the week.
He said: “Luke said to me that he wished his relationship was more like you and Melissa’s.”
Mr Connelly said that he and his brother were drinking but Luke became more drunk as the evening progressed and they started arguing about “random things.”
He said that they started exchanging punches and that Luke got him on the ground and that he put a hand on his throat.
Mr Connelly said he thought he passed out and when he came to he managed to get Luke off him and the pair stood up.
The accused added: “He threatened to ****ing kill me.
"Melissa asked him to leave. The look in his eye was not something I had ever seen before. The look was one of pure rage. I had never seen it before.
“I thought he was going to kill me.”
He told the court that he picked up the knife from the kitchen of the house in the hope of trying to stop his brother from continuing the fight. But he then struck Luke with the blade.
In her closing speech, prosecutor Leanne McQuillan urged jurors to convict Mr Connelly saying the evidence showed that he had used disproportionate force.
She added: “When you have considered the evidence you should have no reasonable doubt about the guilt of the accused and find him guilty of the charge libelled against him.”
Defence advocate Shelagh McCall QC said that Mr Connelly had no other choice in the circumstances.
Ms McCall added: “You should have no doubt that the prosecution has failed to prove its case.”
Judge Lady Carmichael told Mr Connelly he could leave the dock following the verdict. He left to be consoled by crying family members.
