Irishman Vincent Crowe (35) was given a life sentence yesterday in Perth for the murder of fellow Irishman, Kenny Meyler.
In the second trial to determine a verdict, Judge Justice Robert Mitchell handed down a minimum of 17 years for the murder of the Wexford man.
On February 9th, 2013, the two men met through mutual friends out in a nightclub. Crowe had taken a concoction of drink and drugs, including the increasingly dangerous but well known drug mephedrone aka ‘meow meow”.
They ended up at a house party that went on right throughout the night and into the following evening.
Witnesses say that Meyler had a verbal row with one of Crowe’s friends, but that the two men shook hands and had moved on.
Suddenly around 2:30pm, Crowe got up, walked into the kitchen grabbed a knife and “calmly stabbed Meyler” in the throat. Meyler was subsequently rushed to hospital where he spent six days on life support but then lost his life.
The Judge told the court that Crowe’s use of drugs explained his conduct but did not excuse it, and memory loss was not a mitigating factor..
Mr Meyler’s mother Melanie read a victim impact statement in court, describing it as cruel that the family were put through two trials.
She told the court her son did not like drugs nor did he enjoy being around them. She concluded:
“I am lost without Kenny. A part of me left with my son. My world fell apart.”