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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Grant McCabe

Scots woman who shouted 'Yes' after stabbing man to death facing life sentence

A woman who yelled "yes" after stabbing a man to death is facing a life sentence.

Stephanie Bowie brutally knifed Darren Russell, 21, twice in the chest in Erskine, Renfrewshire, on New Year's Day, 2021.

The 29 year-old thug stormed to the scene after her brother Mark had been in a minor row with Darren.

Bowie denied murder after effectively claiming she "accidentally" stabbed the victim when she brought out the blade to "scare" him.

But, jurors found her guilty following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

She showed no emotion on being convicted of murder as judge Lord Weir deferred sentencing until next month.

He told Bowie, of Paisley, Renfrewshire, she had committed a "deplorable act of lethal violence".

The killing occurred close to the Grill in the Park Bar and Restaurant in Erskine on the morning of January 1 last year.

Darren, Mark Bowie, 19, and others had earlier been in the grounds of nearby Barsail Primary School. It was there the two men later got into an argument.

Stephanie Bowie then jumped a taxi from Paisley to Erskine after learning of the row. Intent on violence, the killer had grabbed a knife before getting into the cab.

She turned up at the school and immediately threatened Darren. This included her screaming: "I am going to f***ing kill you."

The Bowies, Darren and his best friend Craig Smith eventually ended up a path near the restaurant.

Describing what happened, Craig, 23, said: "I did not know why she was going for my friend.

"I was trying to get Mark to calm down his sister. Me and Mark had a kind of discussion...as I turned, he (Darren) just fell to the deck and she has come skipping past, all happy."

Police on the scene of the blade attack in Erskine (Victoria Stewart/Daily Record)

As the Bowies ran off, Craig helped his dying friend back to the home he shared with his parents nearby, but he tragically never recovered.

Stephanie Bowie gave evidence and admitted she had killed Darren, but had not meant it.

This was despite the blows being deep into the victim's body.

She claimed Darren was standing over her, she "panicked" and brought out the knife hidden up her sleeve.

But, prosecutor Lorraine Glancy put to her: "The truth is, by the time you got to the Grill in the Park, you were raging at Darren Russell for the best part of an hour?"

Bowie: "Yes."

Miss Glancy: "You turned (after the stabbing) and shouted: 'yes'. You then ran back up the road that you had chased him from."

She replied: "No."

Bowie said she ditched the knife and her blood stained jacket. She also altered her hairstyle to try and avoid being caught.

Miss Glancy said the killer abandoned Darren as she only "cared about herself".

After the verdict, the court was told Bowie had a number of previous convictions including for threatening behaviour and breaching bail.

Lord Weir deferred sentencing until July 7 in Stirling.

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