The family of man who was left paralysed after being brutally beaten and left for dead in an Aberdeen high-rise has described the prison sentence given to his “remorseless” attacker as “justified”.
Sandy Mundie knocked Jamie Hood unconscious with a single “flying punch” during an unprovoked attack at Greig Court before repeatedly stamping on his head as he lay helpless on the ground.
The 37-year-old partially undressed and then wrapped Mr Hood’s lifeless body in a sheet and dragged it into a stairwell.
Jamie, 31, is currently relearning how to walk and it is unlikely that he will be able to live independently in the future.
‘The justice system has done its job today’
Mundie – who was found unanimously guilty by a jury in August – sat emotionless at the High Court in Aberdeen today as the details of the brutal attempted murder were recounted by Judge Andrew Miller.
Describing Mundie as “indifferent to the fate” of Mr Hood, the judge then sentenced Mundie to 12 years in prison.
Speaking exclusively to the Press and Journal, Mr Hood’s brother Dillan Neil said the significant period of imprisonment handed to Mundie was “a relief”.
“Coming into court today no one knew what was going to happen, ” he said. “But the justice system has done its job today.”
“Seeing the coldness and callousness in him [Mundie], I think that justifies the sentence – there’s no remorse.”
Having engaged in petty crime prior to the vicious assault, Mr Neil described his brother as experiencing “almost a rebirth” during his rehabilitation.
“His recovery is only going to continue and get better, ” he said.
“Jamie has a huge network behind him to help him and move on from this.
“I think the fact that Sandy Mundie will be locked up for the next decade and this is over will mean he can focus on himself and his recovery.”
‘It sounded like the bottom of a glass jar hitting a concrete floor’
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.
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.
Months of rehabilitation
Cleaners at the building found Jamie clinging to life at around 11am and he was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
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.
Mudie’s defence advocate Bert Kerrigan QC told the court that no one present during the trial could fail to be impressed by the “courage shown” by victim Jamie Hood who gave evidence from a standing position where possible, despite being wheelchair bound.
Mr Kerrigan went on to describe his client as “rather between the devil and the deep blue sea” and someone who has a “bad record” of previous convictions.
“The dilemma for any judge in these circumstances is judging the seriousness of this offence, which cannot be underestimated, with a need for rehabilitation for the individual,” he said.
‘Only a significant period of imprisonment is appropriate’
“I believe that might be served by an extended sentence – this would be to his benefit and to the benefit of society.”
Sentencing Mudie, Judge Miller told him he had carried out an “overwhelming assault” on Mr Hood that began by striking him with a “flying punch”.
He stated that Mundie then proceeded to rob and partially undress Mr Hood before wrapping him in a sheet and “abandoning him” in a stairwell.
“It was a matter of sheer chance that Mr Hood was discovered by a member of cleaning staff,” Judge Miller said.
“The scale of the violence and the fact that you abandoned him show that you were indifferent to his fate.
“This incident was a significant escalation on your previous offending and because of the gravity of this crime I believe that only a significant period of imprisonment is the only appropriate disposal in this case.”
Judge Miller sentenced Mundie, whose address was given as HMP Grampian, to a total of 12 years in prison with an additional two years to be served under supervision following his eventual release from prison.
