A vicious killer who stabbed a dad in the neck with a broken piece of crockery has been sentenced to life in jail. Andrew McLeod, 58, will spend at least 20 years behind bars for the "needless" slaying of dad John Dalziel, 47, on May 6, 2021.
McLeod launched the sickening attack on the Paisley man on his birthday at his own home in Whites Bridges Avenue, leaving him "slaughtered" in the living room. A trial at the High Court in Glasgow heard that McLeod carved a 13cm-long slash in Dalziel's neck with the plate.
He attempted to stab his victim with the dish multiple times and struck him on the head, causing blunt force trauma. The dad was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow with serious injuries, but tragically died a short time later.
A forensics expert told the court that the attack severed Dalziel's anterior jugular vein, and that a post-mortem suggested he had been struck on the head at least four times and had suffered brain damage. Both led to his death.
A jury found him guilty of murder on Thursday, and were then told the 58-year-old has a number of previous convictions, including one for culpable homicide for which he was sentenced in 2005. Sentencing McLeod, Lord Arthurson condemned McLeod's "ferocious and wholly murderous" crime, which has left Dalziel's young daughter fatherless.
He said: "By this appalling crime you have left Mr Dalziel’s young daughter without her beloved father, a consequence that you should be very much aware of as you are sentenced today. This was a ferocious and wholly murderous attack, involving an improvised weapon and the application of considerable violence upon a man who had been your friend in his own home.
"I also note from your record that you have been convicted previously in this court for a crime involving the taking of a person’s life. I consider there to be no discernible mitigating features in respect of you."
Cops tasked with investigating the murder have welcomed McLeod's conviction. Detective Chief Inspector Lynsey Watters, from Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team, said: “This was a callous attack and our thoughts remain with Mr Dalziel’s family and we hope that the conviction brings them some kind of closure. This was a needless death and our enquiries found that Mr Dalziel had been left on the floor after being seriously assaulted, so badly that he died a short time later in hospital.
“I would like to thank everyone involved in this long investigation and I hope this sends a clear message that violence has no place in our society and will not be tolerated. Police Scotland will continue to work alongside our partners at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal service to make sure that any perpetrators are brought to justice and removed from our communities.”
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