A MURDERER who lied in a bid to avoid being arrested for the killing of his friend has been jailed for life.

James Caven, 39, was jailed for a minimum of 20 years on Tuesday for murdering his friend Colin Armstrong, 49, in Macmerry in October 2014.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Caven (pictured below) stabbed Mr Armstrong 27 times during a horrifying attack at a house on the village’s Greenmill Brae.

But rather than admit responsibility, Caven told murder squad police that his friend was killed by two other men.

Police investigating the crime found overwhelming evidence that Caven was the attacker and brought him into custody.

Detectives were, however, unable to establish a motive as to why Caven turned on Mr Armstrong and ended his life.

During an eight-day trial at the High Court, Caven repeated his lies about the circumstances surrounding his friend’s death.

But a jury refused to believe him and returned a unanimous guilty verdict to a charge of murder.

Passing sentence, judge Lord Uist ordered Caven to serve at least 20 years before he would become eligible for parole.

Lord Uist added: “You have been convicted by the unanimous verdict of the jury of the horrific and gruesome murder of your neighbour and friend Colin Armstrong.

“He met a terrible end when he was subjected to a cruel and merciless attack with a knife by you, resulting in a total of 27 stab wounds: 14 on the neck, eight on the front of the chest, four on the back and one on the left arm. Only you know what caused you to do this.

“In response to the overwhelming evidence against you, you lied and lied and lied again.

“You have shown no remorse for what you did and even falsely blamed men in an attempt to cover up your guilt.

“The sentence for murder is fixed by law and I must now impose that sentence on you. I sentence you to imprisonment for life.” Caven, originally of Greenmill Brae, pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Armstrong following an incident at a property there last October 7.

During proceedings, the court heard how the pair were friends and spent lots of time together.

But the jury also heard that Caven nursed a grudge against Mr Armstrong.

About one month before Mr Armstrong was murdered, Caven asked neighbour William Maryniuk, 31,for a knife to attack Mr Armstrong. The dad-of-two said that the admission came during a conversation between the pair.

He added: “He turns round and says ‘give me a knife.’ “I asked him why. He said: ‘I’m gonna stab Colin because he won’t get out of my house.’” Another neighbour of Caven’s told the court how the criminal also threatened him following an incident in September 2014.

Craig Goodfellow, 30, told the jury that Caven also threatened to attack him.

He added: “He told me that he knew my living room window was open at night time.

“He said he would come through the window and shoot me.” The court heard that in October 2014, Mr Armstrong was stabbed repeatedly in a cruel and sustained attack.

Police investigating the incident found overwhelming forensic evidence that Caven was the man responsible for the murder.

However, Caven claimed that two men who lived nearby came to the property and attacked his friend.

Giving evidence, Caven told the jury that he wasn’t the man responsible for taking Mr Armstrong’s life.

He told defence solicitor advocate John Scott QC that two other men who weren’t arrested were the murderers.

Caven told the court: “It wasn’t me.” However, a jury refused to believe his story and convicted him of murder.

Following conviction, it emerged that Caven had convictions for assault and breaching the firearms act.

Mr Scott told Lord Uist that his client suffered from health problems – in March last year he suffered from Deep Vein Thrombosis.

The QC also told the court that Caven was on anti-depressants.

He added: “This goes back to his teenage years. He was given Prozac because he was bullied at school.” The court also heard that Caven maintained his position of innocence.

Mr Scott added: “There is not very much more I can say on his behalf.” Passing sentence, Lord Uist warned Caven that he may not be released after serving 20 years.

He added: “You must not assume that you will be released at the end of that period; you will be released only when it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that you continue to be confined in prison.” The court also heard that Caven assaulted Mr Armstrong in the weeks leading up to his death.

Speaking following the verdict, a senior Police Scotland detective welcomed the conviction of Caven.

Detective Sergeant Neil Seath, of Police Scotland’s Major Investigation team, said: “Colin Armstrong gave his friendship to James Caven, only to be repaid with incidents of escalating violence leading ultimately to a vicious sustained and murderous knife assault.

“Caven, rather than providing an explanation which may have given Colin’s family some level of understanding, chose to try and shift the blame onto others, resulting in extensive enquiries having to be made to eliminate innocent individuals.

“His conviction is welcomed and a testimony to the hard work of the officers involved in this investigation.

“My thoughts are with Colin’s family and I pay tribute to them for the dignity and strength shown throughout this tragedy and I sincerely hope this brings them some form of closure for them.” The murder was described by Fa’side ward councillor Kenny McLeod as an incident that “shocked” the community.

He offered his condolences to the family and told the Courier: “It is a blow to the community as well when something like this happens.”