Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Killer who thought he was the devil discharged from hospital days before fatal stabbing at Broughty Ferry flats

Broughty Ferry stabbing inquiry
Mark Johnston was killed in Broughty Ferry in 2017

A psychiatrist who requested a hospital bed for a patient told a court he is “surprised” he managed to be discharged days before stabbing a man to death in Broughty Ferry.

David Reid stabbed Mark Johnston at least 120 times, believing he was the Devil.

Before the killing, he had told family members and medical workers about delusions that “demons” were trying to harm him and asked for treatment.

Reid, 47, from Dundee, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was admitted to Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen but doctors ruled he was not ill enough to be detained for urgent treatment and he left.

Broughty Ferry stabbing inquiry
Mark Johnston

He later stabbed his best friend Mr Johnston, 47, with a kitchen knife.

Travelled from Dundee to Aberdeen

At the first day of a Fatal Accident Inquiry in Dundee, former NHS Tayside psychiatrist Dr Malcolm Kinnear, 53, stressed he was not criticising colleagues in NHS Grampian for allowing Reid to leave.

He said the decision would have been made based on Reid’s condition.

Dr Kinnear, a consultant at Dundee’s Wedderburn House, had requested a “scarce” bed at Royal Cornhill in Aberdeen due to their being no available beds closer to Reid’s home in Broughty Ferry.

Community mental health nurse Andrew Warren and mental health nurse Ron Menzies accompanied Reid on his 70-mile journey up the A90 from Dundee.

Broughty Ferry stabbing inquiry
Police during their investigation at Nursery Road, Broughty Ferry, where Reid killed Mr Johnston.

The pair, who escorted Reid to hospital in Aberdeen by taxi, told the inquiry they could see his condition improving discernibly the further they travelled from the block of flats in which he lived with what he described as “a demon”.

Reid had suggested to medical professionals as long as he was near the “demon” at his block of flats, there was a risk that one would attack the other.

Did not meet criteria for detention

Dr Kinnear reconfirmed his position that had Reid not been willing to attend hospital, he would have detained and assessed him himself.

Dr Kinnear, now of Stratheden Hospital, also said he would have contacted police over “targeted threats to his neighbour and by association, the demon.”

In a statement given to police, Royal Cornhill psychiatrist Dr Andrew Robinson said: “There was no indication from NHS Tayside as to how long David [Reid] would be in our care.

“David was kept under general observations by nursing staff and I would have been made aware of any issues.”

Dr Robinson confirmed Reid had been admitted as an informal patient as he had arrived voluntarily and he was not “distressed” when he arrived.

Reid had been being assessed on a daily basis while in Aberdeen, and Dr Robinson explained three of the five criteria for detention had not been met.

Dr Robinson, 68, told the court Reid had said just wanted to go home and that he was willing to continue taking medication at home.

Broughty Ferry stabbing inquiry
Officers probe the 2017 killing

The doctor said he was “disappointed” Reid left as he was keen to resolve other issues.

He said he and his team were “extremely surprised” to hear of Reid’s subsequent violent actions.

Reid acquitted of murder

After leaving hospital, Reid phoned his sister less than 48 hours after being discharged to confess stabbing Mr Johnston to death in his flat in Broughty Ferry, “shredding” his jugular vein with a kitchen knife in October 2017.

Reid was acquitted of murder after prosecutors accepted he was not criminally responsible for his actions because of a mental disorder.

At the High Court in Glasgow last February he was sent to the State Hospital at Carstairs without limit of time by judge Lady Rae.

The FAI, presided over by Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown, will continue on Thursday.