THE brutal killing of a Renfrew dad is to be explored in a new BBC documentary. 

Paul Mathieson, 37, was attacked in the town’s Houston Street on January 14, 2018, and left bleeding on the ground.

Tragically, the dad-of-one died from his injuries at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, in Glasgow, six days later.

Now the senseless killing is to feature on BBC Scotland in the first episode of a new series of Murder Case.

The programme follows the work of Police Scotland’s Major Investigations Team in the aftermath of Mr Mathieson’s death.

It shows how, although the attack was captured on grainy CCTV footage, the investigation becomes a complex ‘whodunnit’ inquiry, as the perpetrator can’t be identified.

For more than five months, some of the most skilled detectives in Scotland worked tirelessly to track down Mr Mathieson’s killer.

As part of their investigation, they enlisted the help of Mr Mathieson’s heartbroken sister Amanda Digby, who made a public appeal for information.

With a lack of any forensic evidence, the search seemed almost impossible – until a pair of trainers gave police the breakthrough they needed.

Officers had managed to draw up a list of 22 suspects, including Paisley man Jamie Anderson.

When they searched Anderson’s home and examined the clothes and shoes he was wearing on the night Mr Mathieson was attacked, DNA was found on the stitching and welt of one of his trainers.

The distinctive rear flash of the trainers was also captured on CCTV footage of the attack.

In March last year, at the High Court in Glasgow, Anderson admitted killing Mr Mathieson by punching him, causing him to fall to the ground, and kicking and punching him on the head and neck.

He had originally been accused of murder but the Crown accepted his guilty plea to a reduced charge of culpable homicide.

Anderson was handed a nine-year prison sentence.

At the time, judge Lord Armstrong told him: “The loss to Mr Mathieson’s family will be severe and long-lasting.”

Murder Case will be shown on BBC Scotland tonight, starting at 10pm, and on BBC Two at 9pm the following night.