A killer who murdered a man then torched his flat has been jailed for at least 23 years.
Gabriel Brown stabbed Joseph Johnston a total of 22 times during a "punishment" attack at the 58 year-old's home in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway in November 2024.
Brown, 35, also chopped off the victim's ring finger, cooked it and ate the severed digit.
The body of Mr Johnston – known as Ernie – was later discovered in the burnt out flat.
Brown had never met his victim before – but Mr Johnston had previously been in a relationship with the thug's step-mother.
The ex-bouncer decided to target the man amid claims of what he had been told about their time together.
Brown – a convicted sex offender – was today sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow having earlier been convicted of murder.
The killer's lawyers had lodged a special defence that he was mentally ill at the time.
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Brown claimed he had been possessed by the spirit of 19th-century born occultist Aleister Crowley, who apparently told him to "take Ernie's soul".
Sentencing, Lord Mulholland today told him: “This was a sustained, merciless and vicious attack on a defenceless man in his own home.