A killing gang who murdered a man after a so-called feud have been jailed for a total of 81 years.
Robert Park, 69, Raymond Platt, 56, Craig Colquhoun, 39, and Joseph McCulloch, 50, were today (September 10) convicted of a plot to fatally attack Tony Ferns on April 18, 2019.
The 33-year-old was stabbed in the heart as he sat in his car near his mother's home in Thornliebank, East Renfrewshire.
Jurors heard how Tony had long blamed Park, known as Rab, for his disabled brother Mark being injured in a road accident seven years earlier.
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There were a number of clashes between the pair before Tony tried to call a "truce".
But, instead, window cleaner Park plotted with convicted killer Raymond Platt, 56, friend Joseph McCulloch, 50, and Craig Colquhoun, 39, to murder the well-liked tiler.
Prosecutors stated Platt was the attacker, with Colquhoun the getaway driver in the Motability car belonging to the mum of his then partner.
McCulloch was said to have been helping track Tony's movements before the killing.
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All four had denied being involved in the murder during a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
But they were all convicted of the charge by jurors today (September 10).
Lord Fairley stated: “This was not, as is sometimes seen in these courts, a fight that got out of hand.
“This was a targeted and pre-planned assassination.”
Each were handed a life sentence. Platt was given the biggest minimum jail term of the four – 23 years.
Lord Fairley remarked on his “appalling” criminal record.
He had previously been jailed for 14 years for the culpable homicide of a man in 2000.
Platt was then sentenced to nine years for attempted murder in 2013. He was freed early and was only back on the streets eight months before stabbing Tony.
Park, a convicted drug trafficker, was jailed for at least 20 years. He was described as “the instigator” for the murder.
Colquhoun got the same minimum term. He had previously been locked up for violence in 2012.
McCulloch, whose lawyer said the conviction was a “fall from grace” for the ex-railway engineering firm site manager, must serve at least 18 years.
Tony's mum, Phyllis Ferns, along with other relatives, was in court. She sobbed as her son's killers finally faced justice.
None of the four showed any emotion as they were led handcuffed to the cells.
Jurors were told how Tony's brother Mark died in 2017.
Their mum, Phyllis, 67, revealed how Tony had been left devastated by his sibling's passing.
Mark was said to have been left badly affected by a road collision in 2012.
In her evidence, Phyllis agreed Tony held a “grudge” against Park for this incident.
Phyllis her son believed Park had "made the phone call" that brought the car into the street, which knocked down Mark.
Prosecutor Alex Prentice KC put to her: “Fair to say that there was bad blood between Rab Park and Tony?"
The mum replied: “Yes.”
In charges withdrawn during the trial, it was claimed Park had once brandished a knife and later a hammer at Tony.
Park and McCulloch were also said to have confronted him while in his work van.
In a further incident, the court heard Tony had punched Park.
Around 2017, Tony then decided to speak to Park in a local bookmaker's to try and “draw a line under things” as Phyllis had been “worried” at matters escalating.
Park apparently agreed – before stating: “You were getting murdered – but I will make the phone call and call them off.”
The court heard, however, that Tony remained a target. He became paranoid that a car had been following him.
The killing occurred shortly after he picked up partner Angela McCann from her shift at a local shop.
Tony parked his Audi A3 as the car containing Platt and Colquhoun pulled out onto a side street.
Angela recalled how he then dropped her home as she went to get her sister, who had been babysitting her children.
After she got out of the car, Angela spotted a man at the motor. She was not worried as “Tony knew everybody”.
But, she then heard his Audi "screech" away towards Phyllis's home nearby.
Angela recalled Tony shouting: “Angie, I have been stabbed.”
She immediately raced up to her stricken boyfriend, who had managed to get to his mum's door.
A sobbing Angela told jurors: “He collapsed in my arms. I just held him in my arms. You could see that the life was draining from him."
It was a panicked Phyllis who made the 999 call. During it, the distraught mum said: “You are going to have to get an ambulance. There is a lot of blood. My son is dying.”
Tony passed away having suffered a stab wound to the heart. He had also been knifed in the abdomen.
The day after, McCulloch had an alcohol-fuelled BBQ at his home – Colquhoun and Platt were among the large gathering.
CCTV footage and mobile phone evidence were crucial in the four being charged following a large-scale police probe.
But it was six years after the murder before they faced a trial.
Park and McCulloch were the only two of the killers to give evidence.
The court heard the pair often met up to watch Rangers games on TV in the former's “mancave” at the back of his home.
Park also knew Platt and helped him get a job with McCulloch. Colquhoun also ended up working in the railway industry.
Park's KC Tony Graham put to him in his evidence: “Are all of you all here because you wanted him (Tony) taught a lesson and that it all went a bit too far?”
He denied the suggestion. Park added that the first he had heard of the death was either on the news or someone he knew had seen it on social media.
Pigeon-keeper McCulloch said if he had been seen driving slowly in the area, it was not because he was looking for Tony, but instead had been searching for any of the birds that he owned.
In 2023, we reported how Ferns' brutal killing was the only unsolved murder in the 10-year history of Police Scotland.
Following his death, officers launched an urgent murder inquiry and detectives spoke to more than 600 people and examined thousands of hours of CCTV.
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At the time, a friend of Ferns said they were baffled by the murder. They said: "Tony was a lovely boy. A gentle giant. He was a tiler and worked hard. Why anyone would do this to him is a mystery.
"It is shocking that something like this can happen in a quiet residential area like this. I just keep asking myself why."
Meanwhile, her other son, Mark, died in his sleep. The family friend added: “She has lived there for 40 years.
"They were a nice, normal family, and now it is only her. She is on her own. They are part of the community.”
Following the horror incident, Detective Chief Inspector Grant Macleod of Police Scotland's Major Investigation Team described the murder as a vicious and motiveless attack.
However, in the early days of the probe, police struggled to make any headway.
One week after the murder, officers conducted interviews at the location where Ferns was murdered in a bid to trace the killer.
DCI Macleod also revealed that Ferns' family had been left devastated by the killing.
A month after Ferns' death, officers seemed to have a breakthrough when they arrested four men, aged 33, 44, 49, and 63 at the time; however, they were all later released, and the trail soon grew cold.
Then, a year after Fern's death, Phyllis issued an appeal to the public in a bid to bring her son's killers to justice. Meanwhile, around the same time, Crimestoppers offered a reward of up to £10,000 for information that would help Police Scotland's investigation.
“No one should ever have to go through that. He was a much-loved son and partner."
But despite the offer of the reward, the murder inquiry stalled again due to a lack of information from the public.
In 2023, Ferns' killing was Police Scotland's only unsolved murder inquiry.
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