The Scotsman 15/03/1996
A MAN was jailed for life yesterday after being found guilty of the murder of a schoolboy Celtic fan.
Jason Campbell, 23, whose father and uncle were Protestant terrorist paramilitaries, stabbed 16-year-old Mark Scott outside a pub at
Glasgow's Bridgeton Cross on 7 October last year.
Iain Bonomy, QC, prosecuting, revealed to the jury that Campbell had a previous conviction for carrying a knife.
The defence QC, Donald Findlay, suggested that Campbell, of Heron Street, Bridgeton, had originally intended just to slash his victim.
Campbell denied murder and lodged a special defence of alibi, claiming he was at home with his relatives at the time of the killing.
During the trial the court heard how minutes before he died, Mark, a Glasgow Academy pupil and the son of a corporate lawyer, had been
watching Celtic's 2-1 win over Partick Thistle with two friends at nearby Celtic Park.
As the three youngsters - one the son of James Friel, the procurator-fiscal at Paisley -walked along London Road towards Bridgeton Cross
they had to pass through a gauntlet of hate from Rangers fans outside the pub.
The attack, in broad daylight, was witnessed by other fans, women out shopping with their children and people in cars and buses.
After the killing, Campbell sprinted to his home just a few hundred yards away where the family was having a party for his nephew's 12th
birthday.
He quickly showered and changed, then left, travelling later that night to stay with friends in Greenock.
During the first hours after the incident police received at least 50 telephone calls naming Campbell as the killer.
The next day Campbell gave himself up to police with his lawyer Massimo Franchi.
He was picked out by various witnesses as the young man in a pink shirt and denims they saw running from the scene.
One witness identified Campbell as the killer at a parade and in the dock. Another couple saw him with a knife before the murder.
Life for fiend who killed Celtic fan Mark
Daily Record 15/03/1996
ARNOT McWHINNIE
Twisted bigot Jason Campbell was locked up for life yesterday for the brutal murder of a schoolboy Celtic fan.
Campbell, 23, whose father and uncle were feared Protestant terrorist paramilitaries, slashed the throat of 16-year-old Mark Scott.
Yesterday, after a seven-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Sutherland told him: "You have been found guilty of a horrific attack on
an entirely innocent youth."
As he was led away Campbell, of Heron Street, Bridgeton, gave his family a thumbs-up sign.
The trial heard how minutes before he died, Mark, a Glasgow Academy pupil and the son of a top corporate lawyer, had been watching
Celtic's 2- 1 win over Partick Thistle with two pals at nearby Celtic Park.
As the three youngsters headed along London Road towards Bridgeton Cross, Rangers fans screamed abuse.
Campbell, who regularly hung about Bridgeton Cross wearing a bright orange anorak to show off his Loyalist leanings, was spotted by
various witnesses.
The boys did not react to Campbell's abuse but he sneaked up behind them, grabbed Mark and slashed at his throat.
He then sprinted to his home where the family was having a party for his nephew Carson's 12th birthday.
He quickly showered, changed, and then left, travelling later that night to stay with friends in Greenock.
During the first hours after the incident police received at least 50 telephone calls naming Campbell as the killer.
The next day Campbell gave himself up to police and was later identified by several witnesses as the man they saw running away.
One woman identified Campbell as the killer at an identity parade and in the dock.
Campbell claimed he was at home with his family at the time Mark was being attacked.
He was backed up by his mum, Agnes, 52.
And he was so confident that he wouldn't be convicted that at one identity parade he said to a stand- in: "Long live the not proven verdict."
In June, 1979, his father, Colin Campbell, now 53, and his uncle William "Big Bill" Campbell, 54, and another seven Ulster Volunteer Force
terrorists were sentenced to a total of 519 years.
Charges ranged from the bombing of two Catholic pubs in Glasgow and a criminal conspiracy to further the cause of the UVF by gathering
arms and explosives. The brothers were convicted of the conspiracy.
"Big Bill" Campbell, then the UVF's top commander in Scotland, got a total of 62 years in concurrent sentences. The longest was 16 years.
Colin got 57 years, which included a 15-year sentence.
Yesterday both were in court to watch Jason sentenced to life.
A detective who was involved in hunting Mark's killer said yesterday: "This murder chilled the public because the victim could have been
your son, my son, indeed anyone's son.
"He was picked at random and killed for no other reason than he supported the wrong football team.
"What happened shocked people so much that the dogs were barking Campell's name in the street soon after it happened.
"Our phone was red hot and each caller named Campbell as the killer.
"The trouble was the Campbell family is so feared in the area witnesses were just terrified to give their names."