A woman whose son was stabbed to death has accused compensation authorities of withholding her payout.
John Hamilton was murdered by two men who forced their way into a house he was in.
His mum Janet, 60, was awarded criminal injuries compensation and funeral costs in December after a three-year battle.
But she is still waiting on the money and has criticised the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) for leaving her in limbo.
John was knifed six times by serial thug Reece Brunton in November 2015. His accomplice Liam Kippen battered John with a lump of concrete.
The attack happened after Kippen warned John to stay away from a woman he once dated.
At the High Court in Glasgow, Brunton – who had 28 previous offences – admitted murder. Kippen pled guilty to the reduced charge of culpable homicide.
Janet first applied for compensation from CICA weeks after John, 35, was murdered at a house in Bellshill, Lanarkshire. The claim included the £5500 cost of his funeral and a headstone. But the application was thrown out in January 2017.
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CICA claimed John had been partly responsible for his own death because of a feud with his two attackers. It claimed that information obtained from police showed John had tried to target the father of one of his attackers but went to the wrong house.
It was also claimed that he had hit one of his killers with a hammer in a previous incident. CICA said these flashpoints had contributed to bad blood between the men.
Two appeals were rejected on the same grounds. But a third attempt at overturning the decision was upheld at the end of last year.
A three-person panel agreed there was no evidence that John was to blame for his own murder.
Janet, who represented herself at the hearing, said: “CICA was saying John brought the murder on himself and deserved it. But there was never any proof of that.
“My son was killed in an unprovoked attack and both men admitted their guilt. Despite this, CICA haven’t paid out a penny even though they’ve been ordered to.
“All I want to do is put all this behind me. The murder of your child is something that never leaves you.”
Janet claimed she has not been told how much compensation she’ll get. She added: “They claim they’re waiting on paperwork from the police before they can process it.”
Janet also successfully appealed on behalf of John’s son Connor, 20, and his dad John Sr, 67, who are also awaiting payment.
Brunton, 23, was ordered to serve at least 13 years, while Kippen, 21, was jailed for eight years.
The Ministry of Justice, which manages CICA, said: “Last year, we awarded £154million to victims to compensate for their experience. We have a just appeal process that lets them appeal CICA decisions.”
