Tracy Brannan's killer had stabbed his father before

THE husband of a Scottish woman murdered by her stepson has revealed the family had been playing board games together just minutes before he launched the fatal attack.

Dr Harold Brannan, 61, from Omaha in the US, has disowned his son, David, 21, and said he should be jailed for life for stabbing Tracy Brannan to death.

He also said David had previously stabbed him in the chest when they argued over whether one of his son's former girlfriends could stay the night.

Mrs Brannan, 33, who grew up in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, had cooked Scottish salmon for the family on Friday evening, and then they had played games until the early hours.

Dr Brannan said: "Up until the last ten minutes, everything was wonderful. And something changed in him.

"Tracy was saying to Dave, 'Dave we want you to come up. We want you to be part of the family. We've enjoyed this. This has been great. You need to come up out of the basement. You need to be out on your own. You need to be doing stuff in the world that brings you life'."

But his son turned nasty and hurled "vile" insults at her. Dr Brannan said: "I said, 'That's it. You've crossed the line. This needs to stop. We need to go to bed. We need to calm this down'. Dave got up, left and went down into the basement."

Mrs Brannan went outside and her husband had just entered the bedroom when he heard a door slam. He said: "I ran to the back door. I opened it. She was on her knees, blood all over the ground."

His son knocked him to the ground and stabbed him twice in the back. Dr Brannan said: "I saw him circle and go to her, kick her and viciously kick her."

He stumbled to a neighbour's house for help and saw his son cut his own throat as he ran out.

He said: "I held Tracy. I tried to stop the bleeding. I kept saying, Tracy don't leave me."

All three were taken to hospital where Mrs Brannan died from her injuries. Her husband was later discharged.

Police, who hit David three times with a Taser before he dropped the knife, are to charge him with murder once he is released from hospital.

The couple had met while Dr Brannan was visiting Scotland. He later proposed at the top of the Empire State Building in New York. By March, she had moved to Omaha, in Nebraska, and in May, they got married.

However, while the newlyweds got on well, Dr Brannan said his son was withdrawn and would often spend time alone in the basement.

He believed his problems stemmed from a row when his son was 15. Mr Brannan said: "He stabbed me once before."

On that occasion, his father forgave him, but this time, after returning home from hospital, Dr Brannan immediately started clearing out his son's possessions.

He said: "I no longer have a son. I remember the little boy, but that little boy died a long time ago. He should never be allowed into society again because he will do this again."

David Brannan's former lover, Courtney L'Esperance, 19, who witnessed him stab his father, has spoken of her shock at hearing of Mrs Brannan's murder.

Ms L'Esperance said: "Dave never laid a hand on me. However, I am so glad and relieved I got out when I did when I see what happened to poor Tracy. It could have been me or my daughter."