Published: Monday, 23rd November, 2009 4:18pm

Police welcome stiff sentence

by Peter Swindon

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DCI Beattie

The detective who led the investigation which followed the death of Sean Stark has welcomed the 17-year sentence handed to his killer.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Beattie described the murder as "particularly brutal".

"Sean was a popular and well loved young man and the trivial nature of the incident leading up to the attack makes the circumstances all the more tragic," he said.

"The impact on Sean's family and friends, as well as the local community in Lochgelly, was and still is significant and Sean's family in particular deserve great credit for their dignified stance in the face of such grief. Fife Constabulary appreciate the cooperation of all concerned."

He added. "Although the use of knives to commit serious crime is still rare in Fife, Sean's family hope that his legacy will be to discourage their illegal use altogether, including simply carrying a knife for whatever reason."