Robert Gracie jailed for killing friend James Tierney
A man who killed one of his best friends in a frenzied knife attack during a row at a party has been jailed for at least 14 years.
Robert Gracie, 23, was said to have been "like a maniac" and foaming at the mouth when he set upon father-of-one James Tierney with a nine-inch blade.
The 27-year-old welder was stabbed eight times in front of onlookers at a house in West Lothian.
The two men were said to have known each other since childhood.
The row broke out after Gracie became upset, believing people at the party at his home in Letham Place, Pumpherston, had shown a "lack of respect" for the property.
He warned that he was going to go "mental" moments before launching the attack on 2 April last year.
During an earlier hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh, he admitted murdering Mr Tierney.
At the High Court in Aberdeen judge Lord Uist sentenced Gracie to life in prison, with a minimum of 14 years before he is considered for parole.
The judge said the attack "defied comprehension" and said the number of stab wounds inflicted was "shocking".
He reduced the sentence from 16 years for Gracie's guilty plea.
As Gracie was led away a woman in the public gallery shouted: "You rot in hell, you're scum."