Silksworth Man To be Jailed for Life Over Stabbing His 24 Year Brother to Death in the Garden

William Campbell, 26 from Silksworth is to set to face life in prison after he stabbed his younger brother to death in a row in the back garden.

Detective Chief Inspector Jane Fairlamb, of Northumbria Police, said: “This is a terribly sad case that has seen a family torn apart in the most devastating of circumstances.

“William made the decision to pick up a knife after an argument with his brother, and by doing so, he has ruined more than one life forever.

“There is never an acceptable excuse to pick up a knife as a weapon and this tragic case has no winners. Our thoughts remain with Samuel’s family at this most poignant of times.”

Their mother, Carolyn Campbell, had to speak of the ordeal at the trial, saying that she was woken up at midnight by her son coming home drunk which soon escalated into a row with his brother.

She said he asked her where “Sammy” was and she told him he was in the garden burning some wood and had been waiting to have a drink with him.

Mrs Campbell said: “I went back up to bed but I was woken up when they both came in and there were raised voices, within maybe 20 minutes, half an hour.

“I told them to keep quiet because they would disturb the neighbours. Sam and Marley, the dog, went back out in the garden.

“William shook his head and said ‘I was just telling him not to speak to Marley the way he was talking to him’.

“He didn’t say anything, he just got a bit frustrated and said ‘I’m not having this’ and ‘I’m getting a knife’.

“We went in the garden and I tried to get between them.

“Then there was a scuffle.

“I didn’t even think William had touched him.

“Sam went and took his hoodie off. He must have seen the blood on his chest. He stood there and I don’t know if he said ‘you’ve stabbed us’ or ‘come on, come on’, egging him on.

“Then Sam collapsed on William and William said ‘mam, mam, help, he’s collapsed, he’s passed out’.”

Mrs Campbell added: “Sam is a big lad. We laid him down.

“I could see there was no response.

“I went in the house and rang the emergency services but it kept saying it was busy.

“It was pitch black and I couldn’t see properly. The blood looked like it stopped.

He is now set to face his sentence after the new year, but the Judge made it clear that life imprisonment is the only option.