The father of Socceroo Ryan McGowan has been found guilty of murdering his former brother-in-law in Scotland.
James McGowan was convicted by majority decision from a 15-member jury in the High Court of Edinburgh.
![Socceroo Ryan McGowan, whose father has been found guilty of murder.](/web/20170216130821im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/e/6/f/a/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gue1p0.png/1487205132991.jpg)
The 58-year-old stabbed Owen Brannigan to death in 1999 before fleeing to Adelaide and evading capture for almost two decades.
James McGowan was extradited to London in March last year.
According to a BBC report, the jury heard that McGowan told an Australian suicide helpline in 2012 that he had killed someone before.
"Once you've crossed the line and you jump back ... you know you can always go across the line," he told a counsellor.
"Some people can't go across it and I know I went and done it and it's a frightening thing - a frightening thing to deal with.
"You go 'Jesus, I can't kill people. But I did'.
"I would have been better off getting caught ... you know I'll probably be coming out to join society again as a better person than what I'm doing - because every single frickin' day it's slowly eating away at me."
It was argued that the senior McGowan committed the crime in revenge for a rape that McGowan believed Brannigan had committed against a family member of McGowan's.
James McGowan now faces the prospect of life behind bars.
"The law states that there is only one sentence which I can impose in a case with this charge - that is life," Judge Lady Scott said.
"However, I must also fix a punishment part to your sentence - the punishment part is the sentence you must serve before you become eligible for parole."
Ryan McGowan has represented Australia on 18 occasions and his professional career has included stints at Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian and Dundee United.
He was most recently a member of the Henan Jianye squad in the Chinese Super League before having his contract terminated last month.
His brother Dylan McGowan also played for Heart of Midlothian and has been with Adelaide United in the A-League since 2014.
Fairfax Media