A violent Aberdeen thug has been found guilty of a “cold and callous” murder bid that left his victim brain damaged and unable to walk.
Sandy Mundie, 37, knocked out Jamie Hood with a single punch during the attack in Aberdeen’s Greig Court before repeatedly stamping on his head as he lay unconscious on the ground.
A jury at the High Court in Aberdeen convicted Mundie of attempted murder after hearing evidence that he also partially undressed and then wrapped 31-year-old Jamie’s lifeless body in a sheet and dragged it into a stairwell.
As the unanimous verdict was delivered, an emotionally charged courtroom erupted as Jamie’s family members cheered and wept with relief.
The court was told Jamie is currently relearning how to walk and it is unlikely that he will be able to live independently in the future.
Speaking exclusively to The Press and Journal after the verdict, Jamie said the attack had changed his life, but he was indebted to his family for their help and support.
He said: “I came close to dying. This could have been a murder trial. I’m lucky that it wasn’t.
“I wouldn’t have been able to make this recovery without my brother. Family is important to me.”
During the trial, the jury heard graphic evidence from Lisa Main, who witnessed the assault.
Under questioning from advocate depute Paul Kearney KC, she described arriving at Mundie’s flat on the top floor of Greig Court on the morning of December 6 2021 and finding the door ajar.
On entering, she said she found Mundie asleep on a blow-up mattress with a sheet wrapped around him.
She told the court: “I think he’d been robbed. The door was ajar and the house looked empty.”
Ms Main, 37, said Mundie seemed “hostile, aggressive, shocked” after being roused.
She then went outside the flat, where she saw Jamie arriving on the landing, and shouted back into the flat that he was there.
Ms Main said she then heard a female shout “get him” and saw Mundie come racing out of the flat, past her and strike Jamie.
‘I thought he’d maybe killed him’
She described it as a “running punch” to Jamie’s face, adding: “He was out. His head hit the concrete. It sounded like the bottom of a glass jar hitting a concrete floor.”
Asked what happened next, Ms Main continued: “Sandy was still standing over him.
“He repeatedly pulled his foot up and repeatedly stamped on his head, about four or five times.
“I tried to get across to Jamie to stop it but it was too late.”
She went on: “I went to feel if there was a pulse. I thought he’d maybe killed him.
“His eyes were flickering and he was seizuring [sic] on the floor.”
Ms Main said she told Mundie that he might have killed Jamie and that he replied: “I don’t f****** care.”
Describing Mundie as still appearing “angry”, Ms Main said he started to claim Jamie had stolen his clothes.
Ms Main went on to describe how Mundie began to strip Jamie’s unconscious body of his clothes and then wrapped him in a sheet and dumped him in a stairwell.
Cleaners at the building found Jamie clinging to life at around 11am and he was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Horrific, life-changing injuries
Doctors placed him in an induced coma and it wasn’t until January 1 – almost a month after the attack – that he was able to open his eyes.
In February 2022 he was moved to the Rehabilitation Unit at Woodend Hospital and doctors observed he was in a “minimally conscious state” with “signs of a very severe brain injury”.
He was also unable to speak and had “no purposeful activity” in his body.
Over the next six months, he received specialist rehabilitation, including physical and psychological treatments and speech and language therapy, and was eventually discharged in August, although could not walk unaided and required a wheelchair.
Judge Andrew Miller told Mundie, a prisoner of HMP Grampian: “The members of the jury have found you guilty of the attempted murder of Jamie Hood and they have rejected your defence of incrimination.
“You assaulted Jamie Hood in the brutal manner described during the evidence.
“Instead of trying to get help for him, you coldly and callously moved him while he was unconscious and apparently having seizures to a stairwell where you left him.
“It was sheer chance cleaning staff found him.
“By your actions, you inflicted life-changing injuries on Mr Hood.”
The judge deferred sentence for background reports but warned Mundie: “You should be in no doubt that this is a crime which will result in a significant period of imprisonment.”
‘None of us expected Jamie to recover in the way that he has’
Jamie’s brother Dillan attended the High Court every day to watch the trial.
He said his brother’s recovery has been remarkable, given how serious his injuries were.
He said: “Each day is an absolute blessing and Jamie included has taken the lesson from this situation to appreciate life and make the most of it.
“None of us expected Jamie to recover in the way that he has.
“Jamie is able to stand up. He took his first-ever step around 14 months ago and from there, it’s progressed further.
“He’s now able to take a few steps with crutches. He’s able to get up and walk along a wall while holding on to things to support himself.”