THEY committed the most brutal of crimes together and are today facing life in prison together.

Brothers Samuel and Jonathan McKinley stood unmoved in the dock as they were convicted of murdering Eastleigh newsagent Choudhry Zishan.

The drunken pair had been spoiling for a fight all night and it was 35-year-old Mr Zishan who became their victim.

He happened to walk into the path of the McKinleys, who initially wanted to rob him before it descended into a savage attack on the defenceless Mr Zishan, who had simply been on his way to work.

As one held the father-of-one, the other rained down blows, at one point ramming his head into a parked car.

Witnesses heard Mr Zishan crying out in pain as the attack continued while he lay on the ground, with kicks, described as being “full pelt”, being delivered.

Daily Echo:

But the pair were unrelenting and continued meting out the violence for more than six minutes.

Lying in the High Street, just yards from his home, Mr Zishan could not be saved and later died from extensive brain injuries.

While medics were fighting to save his life the brothers had fled the scene, with Jonathan using money stolen from Mr Zishan to buy more alcohol, before they tried to cover their tracks by washing their bloodstained clothes.

When they were arrested several hours later, the pair were still drunk and denying their actions – something they continued to do right up until their convictions yesterday.

Those actions in the early hours of March 30 left behind a pregnant widow, a fatherless son and a baby who will never know her father.

There was also a significant outpouring of grief from the communities in Eastleigh and Southampton, where Mr Zishan, a popular, hard-working man, also had a business.

Today they are coming to terms with the culmination of the court case that saw the two brothers convicted for his murder.

The pair now face life sentences at a hearing tomorrow. A judge will decide how long they must spend in prison before they can be considered for parole.

It took the panel of jurors less than five hours to unanimously convict them after hearing at times graphic evidence and watching disturbing footage of the attack captured on CCTV around the town.

After going on a drinking binge which started the night before at friends’ houses and moved on to the Litten Tree pub in Eastleigh, the pair then threatened a group of friends who were so concerned they called police.

Although officers defused that situation, the pair simply moved on, eventually meeting Mr Zishan.

Afterwards the jury was told that the brothers had significant criminal records, with Samuel particularly showing a tendency for violence in unprovoked attacks against defenceless victims, while Jonathan had committed a violent burglary in which he had carried a knife to the scene.

Det Supt Paul Barton acknowledged that the pair had been through the justice system on numerous occasions, but had never changed their behaviour.

“There are agencies that can try and help people but some people are beyond help unfortunately and I suspect the McKinleys are in that situation,” he said.

Watch the arrests

THIS footage shows the moment that justice caught up with the McKinley brothers.

Police with body-worn cameras recorded the arrests being made on March 30, just hours after the brothers beat Choudhry Zishan to death.

Clearly still under the influence of alcohol, Jonathan and Samuel can be seen protesting their innocence over the attack.