A man who stabbed a friend in the neck with a broken Sambuca bottle has been convicted of his murder.

Richard McAuley, 23, attacked father-of-five Mark Miles after the victim confronted him about comments made to his wife at a drunken gathering.

McAuley accepted he had killed Mr Miles at a friend's flat in Margate, but said he had no memory of the incident in October last year.

He denied murder but members of the jury took just one hour to return a guilty verdict this afternoon.

They had been told that on the night of Mr Miles' death he was at a flat in Sandhurst Place with his wife, Vicky.

Also there was McAuley, who was said to be friends with the couple.

In the early hours of the morning, McAuley said to Mrs Miles: "No one cares about your opinion, you **** head."

"As a consequence, Mr Miles took exception and confronted McAuley," prosecutor Simon Taylor told the court.

"In response, McAuley took hold of a bottle containing Sambuca and attacked Mr Miles with it, using it as a weapon.

"During the course of the attack the bottle was broken and McAuley stabbed Mr Miles with it several times, including a fatal blow to the neck."

Mrs Miles went to her husband's aid and was also cut by the bottle, which had been smashed over a chair.

In cross-examination, McAuley told the jury his memory of that night was "hit-and-miss", saying: "I accept I killed my friend, I just can't remember anything. It maybe my brain doesn't want to remember and is blocking it out."

He also protested there was no reason he would ever want to hurt Mr Miles.

But after his arrest, footage from body-worn police cameras recorded him saying: "I''ll cut him up. I'll slice him. That stupid **** is done."

And when told Mr Miles had died, he replied: "Good, good. Blah, blah, blah. He deserved it."

McAuley, of Northdown Road, Cliftonville, was also convicted of wounding Mrs Miles.

He showed little reaction to the verdicts, although members of the Miles family gasped when they were read out.

The judge thanked them for their dignity during the week-long trial.

McAuley will be sentenced on Wednesday, where he will be jailed for life, with the judge determining the minimum term he will serve behind bars.

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