A pensioner has been jailed for nine years after trying to murder his daughter’s former boyfriend in an axe attack in Aberdeen.
Masked John Quantrell smashed a car window with the weapon before repeatedly striking Christopher Willett, who was in a passenger seat, with the hatchet.
A judge told 65-year-old Quantrell during sentencing at the High Court in Edinburgh: “It is clear, on the evidence, you had a deep animosity towards Christopher Willett.”
At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Clark said: “You struck him four times with the axe. One blow was to his head.”
The judge told Quantrell, who has previous convictions for dishonesty, public disorder, assault and robbery: “There is no alternative to a substantial custodial sentence.”
The judge also ordered Quantrell should be kept under supervision for a further two-year period.
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Quantrell had earlier denied attempting to murder Mr Willett, 36, on September 11 in 2017 at Mansfield Road and Sinclair Road in Aberdeen.
But a jury found him guilty of the murder bid, while acting with another, by approaching the car Mr Willett was in and smashing the window, resulting in glass hitting Mr Willett and repeatedly striking him on the head and body to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life.
Jurors deleted a further allegation that he drove a car at speed towards Mr Willett and hit him with the vehicle, throwing him in the air before he landed on the ground and was rendered unconscious.
Mr Willett, who had a relationship with Quantrell’s daughter up until 2015, was attacked as he left his workplace at Trojan Crates in the Torry area of Aberdeen.
Defence counsel David Moggach said Quantrell maintained the incident stemmed from “a chance meeting”.
He said: “It was not premeditated.”
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