Richard Cassidy, 79, stabbed David Parish 14 times at his home in the Borders.
An OAP who murdered a fellow pensioner he believed had sexually abused a woman has died in jail. Richard Cassidy, 79, stabbed David Furnish 14 times in the savage attack at this home in the Scottish Borders in February 2016.
The former soldier was sentenced to 17 years in prison at the High Court in Glasgow in June of 2017. The Scottish Prison Service announced Cassidy died at HMP Shotts on June 26.
Cassidy suffered a heart attack and stroke while in custody but prison bosses have yet to reveal the cause of death. The court heard that after the murder, Cassidy himself contacted the police and handed himself in.
Cassidy’s defence lawyer Brian McConnachie explained that Cassidy went to visit Parish, 74, at his home and tried to get a confession out of him but had no plans of killing him.
He said the killing was a “moment of madness”, but he described the circumstances as “unique”. McConnachie said most people found it “hard to understand” that the then-70-year-old would be capable of murder.
The defence lawyer said: “He had never been in trouble in his life before this incident. He lived a fulfilling life until what he describes as a moment of madness in February 2016.”
However, the judge, Lord Summers, described the murder as “particularly brutal” with 14 stab wounds inflicted on the victim.
Lord Summers said Cassidy showed premeditation on the day of the attack, and referred to a social work report that found he had received Special Forces training while in the Army on how to infiltrate groups by befriending them.
When passing sentence the judge explained he took into account Cassidy’s lack of previous convictions and what he had reportedly been told about Farish as he passed a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years in jail.
No charges had been brought against Mr Farish.
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