6 days ago
Extended prison sentence after Dundee murder bid 'like a horror film'
A violent brute who left a woman with a four-inch throat wound after a vodka-fuelled murder bid in her Dundee home has been hit with an extended prison sentence.
Mark Watson, 56, subjected the vulnerable woman to a terrifying attack with a kitchen knife in the Charleston area over the 2022 festive period.
His victim told police: 'He stabbed me everywhere, like in the movies.'
The High Court in Dundee heard how the woman turned up at her shocked neighbour's house, clutching her neck.
Watson denied attempted murder but jurors convicted him by a unanimous verdict.
The trial heard how Watson and the woman had planned to spend Christmas together at her house on Craigowan Road.
It was claimed the attack happened at around 7.30am on December 28, with Watson having been in and out of her bedroom during the night after drinking vodka.
The woman had said everything between them was 'good' and Watson's help for her had previously been 'brilliant'.
Ambulance technician Alexander Bourke treated the woman for a three-inch cut to her thumb and first finger, as well as a four-inch laceration across her throat.
The woman's t-shirt was 'dark-stained' with blood from the neck down and she was holding her throat when emergency services arrived.
Mr Bourke said under questioning from advocate depute Lindsey Dalziel: 'She said her male friend was intoxicated.
'She said it was like something out of a horror film. She thought she was going to die.
'She said she was surprised she was still alive and went downstairs to seek help to a neighbour who called us.'
Sergeant Kirsten Kiddie met the woman in the back of the ambulance where she named Watson as the man responsible.
The officer said: 'She said 'he stabbed me everywhere like in the movies. I was in my bed and bleeding everywhere'.'
The woman's evidence was pre-recorded and played to jurors at the start of the trial.
Blood was found in various parts of the flat, including Watson's own blood which the court heard was due to him self-harming.
Watson denied he was even there when the woman was hurt.
Formerly of Adamson Court, Watson had been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing for a social work report to be prepared.
At the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Renucci sentenced Watson to an 11-year sentence comprised of nine years in custody and an extended sentence in the community of two years.
A lifetime non-harassment order was also imposed.
