Liam Hendry's murder near to Celtic Park was a tragic loss

Liam Hendry's family shared these pictures with the Glasgow Times, showing Liam grow from a loving childhood into a fine young man.

Raised the youngest son of three boys, he was at the heart of a close knit family who doted on him and he had a solid group of friends who saw each other through thick and thin.

But while those friends' lives are moving forward - studies, jobs, relationships and children - Liam's life was cut short by a senseless crime.

Every day of the trial of his kill, Liam's family arrived at the High Court in Glasgow to show how important he was and how loved.

Over the course of eight days they sat through evidence that revealed the full picture of what happened on the morning of his death, September 29, 2019.

And while the details were harrowing, his mum and dad, Margaret and William, and brothers, Marc and Paul, supported one another as evidence was led.

On September 28, 2019, Liam's best friend Daniel Ewing travelled to Edinburgh to watch their beloved Celtic play.

When he arrived back in Glasgow after the match, Daniel went to the pub before texting Liam to ask if he wanted to meet up.

The two young men headed to a friend's flat in Easterhouse where they spent the rest of the night drinking and enjoying themselves.

Around 11.3pm they headed back to Barrowfield, a small community in the East End that sits in the shadow of Celtic Park.

In court, lawyers for the accused described the area as a place where a blind eye is turned to criminality and where there is intense gang rivalry between the "top end" and "bottom end" of the scheme.

Witnesses refuted the idea that gang fights are common in the area. One resident, who asked not to be named, said: "There used to be a lot of gang fighting here but it's calmed down a lot with the regeneration of the area.

"There are problems but I like living here and it's not the Wild West. It's a good, close knit community where people know one another and would do anything to help a neighbour."

Back at Daniel's house on Barrowfield Place, more friends came round and the party atmosphere continued.

Daniels' mum, Jacqueline Foy, and sister, Lauren Ewing, popped in for a while before going back out again to visit another friend nearby.

Witnesses who were at the house that night each described the set of circumstances leading to their being there - lists of coincidences and last minute changes of plans that would end with them caught up in a horrific event.

That night Dean Wright, Robert Farrell and a third man were out about in a white Transit van, driving around the area.

CCTV was shown of Dean Wright at a petrol station on Dalrmarnock Road in the early hours where he got talking to an acquaintance, Roxanne Maxwell.

Wright was a man well known to the police with a string of 16 previous convictions for weapons, driving and dishonesty offences.

Ms Maxwell told the court that Wright, Mr Farrell and the third man turned up unexpectedly at her house where they took cocaine and drank more alcohol before leaving again.

At the same time, the party on Barrowfield Place was well underway with Daniel, who described Liam as his best friend, saying the boys were having a good time, drinking and socialising.

As the morning went on, people at the party heard noises and shouts outside - so went to investigate.

Liam, though, stayed in the house. Everyone the Glasgow Times spoke to about Liam described him as a good, decent, family-minded boy who wanted nothing to do with trouble.

One of the deep tragedies of his death is that he was a completely innocent bystander.

Once outside, neighbours could see two gangs of men running at each other in the street. There seemed to be no physical contact - just two groups of rivals charging each other before backing off.

Daniel said he was out on the street for around 10/15 minutes before deciding to call it a night and head indoors.

In court, he described turning around and, to his surprise, seeing Liam on the pavement walking towards him.

At the same time, he heard the noise of a vehicle and saw the van swerving towards his friend.

"I shouted to Liam to watch," he said, "But unfortunately I was too late."

Daniel, just 18 himself, wept as he described dragging his friend's body from the road onto the pavement in a bid to keep him safe as Wright, driving the Transit van, u-turned and headed back towards them.

Meanwhile, Jacqueline and Lauren were walking home. As they turned onto Barrowfield Street, Jacqueline was met with the sight of her son on the ground, cradling his friend and covered in his blood.

Jacqueline raced to Liam to check for a pulse while Lauren began a desperate attempt at resuscitation.

By now, the news had spread across the Barrowfield community and people turned out in their dozens to see what was happening.

The crowd included Liam's mum and dad, met by a horrific scene.

Their son had been gravely injured and there was nothing they, or anyone else, could do for them.

It must have been brutal to relive these details in court for all of the witnesses but none more so than for William, Margaret, Marc and Paul.

Sometimes they were overcome with grief but each day they sat through every hour of evidence in what Judge Lord Arthurson described as "quiet dignity".

In a poignant tribute to Liam, the four family members had masks made with the teenager's face on them, which they wore to court.

The former St Mungo's Academy pupil was Celtic daft, living in the shadow of Parkhead, and going to matches was a family affair.

A few days after his death, Celtic Park rang out with applause at the 18th minute of a match as fellow fans paid tribute to him.

Yesterday, outside the court, Liam's brother read a statement on behalf of their mum and dad, holding back tears but with Paul and Margaret on either side to steady him.

"Liam was an innocent young boy deliberately targeted by an evil coward who had no idea who he was," Marc said.

"There is no sentence long enough for the wicked evil act that human inflicted on our beautiful loving son and brother.

"There really are no words to describe our lives now without Liam being a part of it.

"All our love Liam we are proud of you as a son and brother and we are privileged to have been your parents - thank you."