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| Jimmy Smith jailed for murdering brother-in-law Alex Cameron | Jimmy Smith jailed for murdering brother-in-law Alex Cameron |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A man who murdered his brother-in-law with a sledgehammer and axe has been jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years in prison. | A man who murdered his brother-in-law with a sledgehammer and axe has been jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years in prison. |
| Jimmy Smith, 58, tried to cover up his crime by burying 67-year-old Alexander Cameron under a pile of manure on a farm in West Lothian. | Jimmy Smith, 58, tried to cover up his crime by burying 67-year-old Alexander Cameron under a pile of manure on a farm in West Lothian. |
| Smith said he acted in self-defence when Mr Cameron threatened to shoot his wife Helen Smith on 19 January. | Smith said he acted in self-defence when Mr Cameron threatened to shoot his wife Helen Smith on 19 January. |
| Earlier Smith was found guilty of murder at the High Court in Livingston. | Earlier Smith was found guilty of murder at the High Court in Livingston. |
| He was also convicted of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by concealing the body and pretending to police he did not know where the missing man was. | He was also convicted of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by concealing the body and pretending to police he did not know where the missing man was. |
| Smith had admitted killing Mr Cameron by repeatedly striking him on the head with a log-splitting axe and a six-kilo fencing hammer and burying the body in a shallow grave. | Smith had admitted killing Mr Cameron by repeatedly striking him on the head with a log-splitting axe and a six-kilo fencing hammer and burying the body in a shallow grave. |
| But he had denied the crime was murder. He was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh. | |
| Lord Matthews told him: "You were convicted by the jury of the murder of Alexander Cameron and an attempt to defeat the ends of justice by taking various steps, the worst of which were that you hogtied his body and then, using a mechanical digger, you buried him amongst a collection of debris. | |
| "This was a dreadful way to treat a fellow human being." | |
| "The deprivation of another person's life using weapons has to be treated severely." | |
| Defence solicitor advocate Murray Macara QC said Smith, who has previous convictions for serious assault, had been placed in segregation in prison after threats were made. | |
| He said his client faced a number of health problems and the prognosis for the future was not good. | |
| Mr Cameron was reported missing after failing to turn up at a family funeral on 22 January. Police saw him three days earlier. | |
| He was said to have links to serious, organised crime groups in Central Scotland and connections with Liverpool gangs. | |
| The 67-year-old was previously jailed for six years after a cannabis crop was found in kennels at the farm in 2009 and was ordered to pay more than £525,000 under a crime profits confiscation order. His realisable assets were said to include the farm where he met his death. | |
| After Smith's conviction, a spokesman for Mr Cameron's family said: "Alex was a much-loved father, grandfather, brother, family member and friend to many. | |
| "James Smith is a coward and a callous, evil, cunning and manipulative person." |