THE parents of a 25-year-old man beginning a life sentence for murder have spoken of their determination to help him clear his name.

Neil Smitheman, one of the men found guilty of the murder of Rainham father of three Scott Upton, is appealing against his conviction and sentence.

His parents, Bill and Doreen, say their son is serving a life sentence for a murder he tried to prevent and have hired a new defence team in an attempt to prove his innocence. The appeal against the sentence has already been launched but the conviction appeal is not yet under way.

Mr Smitheman said: “Neil is not totally innocent and I’m not saying he is 100 per cent blameless.

“He’s stuck in prison for something he didn’t do. I just want to prove that Neil is innocent. I know when Neil is lying so I know what he is telling me is 100 per cent true.”

Smitheman was sentenced to at least 25 years in prison in September after being found guilty of the savage murder of the 34-year-old labourer in October last year. Co-defendant Keiran Morris, 26, was sentenced to spend at least 20 years behind bars. Both pleaded not guilty.

Smitheman, of Station Road, Rainham, is now in Woodhill Prison, Milton Keynes.

The prosecution at Maidstone Crown Court alleged that both men hunted down the victim after a petty argument and Smitheman inflicted 12 wounds with a kitchen knife while Morris was armed with a crowbar.

There was no evidence to suggest the crowbar had caused injuries.

Sentencing Smitheman on August 31, Judge Andrew Patience described him as a “dangerous and evil man.” As they were sentenced, Smitheman and Morris began fighting in the dock.

Mr and Mrs Smitheman will argue that Nicky Collier, the main prosecution witness throughout the seven week trial, was unreliable.

Nicky Collier was 17 at the time of the murder and Smitheman’s girlfriend and was with Smitheman, Morris and another defendant Sandy Chaplin on the night of the murder on October 13.

She told the jury she saw Chaplin, then 17, hand Smitheman the knife, but did not witness the killing. In an interview with the Mirror recently she told a different story of what happened.

Chaplin was cleared of murder and manslaughter but found guilty of perverting the course of justice and sentenced to three years in a youth detention centre.