Hugh Cushnaghan reacted after Mr Whitney found him at his wife’s Fishwick home

A Preston man was stabbed in the heart and left to die in an alleyway and his killer now faces five years in jail.

Hugh Cushnaghan, 64, of Montgomery Street, Irvine, Scotland, has been jailed for manslaughter.

Advertisements

Neighbours were woken in Fishwick to the sound of two men fighting after Cushnaghan was discovered with his lover.

Steven Whitney, 50, had been trying to patch things up with his estranged wife and things turned sour when he found her and Cushnaghan together.

In the early hours of Saturday 20 December last year Mr Whitney confronted his killer with a baseball bat.

A fight ensued spilling out into an alleyway between Nimes Street and Fishwick Parade where Mr Whitney was stabbed in the heart.

The knife used to kill Mr Whitney

Mr Whitney was taken to Royal Preston Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Cushnaghan had been due to stand trial in early May, but he entered a guilty plea to manslaughter. He was sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Friday (27 May).

DI Simon Cheyte, from Lancashire Constabulary’s Force Major Investigation Team, said: “This is an incredibly sad situation for all involved.

“Mr Whitney was hoping to rebuild his relationship with his wife and this is clear from text messages sent between the pair shortly before his death.

“He must have been incredibly shocked to discover Mrs Whitney and Cushnaghan were together and a fraught situation escalated quickly with tragic consequences.

Steven Whitney, and the alleyway where he was found

“I would like to thank Mr Whitney’s family for the dignified way they have conducted themselves since his death and I am just thankful they did not have to go through the ordeal of a trial.

“I hope today’s sentence gives them some comfort and they can now attempt to move forward with their lives.”