A violent thug struck a woman in the face with a meat cleaver as he tried to murder her in her Fife home.
Logan Docherty turned up at the flat armed with the weapon and was heard shouting: “I’m going to chop yous up.”
The High Court heard Docherty was kicking at the door of the property in Stationhead Road, Lochgelly.
Adele Jenkins answered it with her brother Ben.
Advocate depute Leanne McQuillan said: “He swung the meat cleaver in their direction and struck Adele Jenkins in the face.
“She held a cloth over her face to try and stop the bleeding and Ben Jenkins called the police.”
The attack victim was taken to hospital in Kirkcaldy.
She had a deep laceration from her forehead, alongside the bridge of her nose and cutting through the full depth of her top lip, exposing her front teeth.
The advocate depute said: “The laceration was surgically sutured in an attempt to minimise scarring but she will have permanent and highly visible scarring.”
Cleaver found behind TV
Police forced entry to Docherty’s address and found him asleep in bed after the attack.
The cleaver was discovered behind a television in the living room.
Docherty, 23, admitted assaulting his 31-year-old victim to her severe injury and permanent disfigurement and attempting to murder her on September 10 this year by striking her on the head with a meat cleaver.
On Wednesday, the High Court in Edinburgh heard Docherty – who was detained for 18 months in 2018 for assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement and impairment – had been freed on bail the previous month at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
The advocate depute said he lived directly across the road from the scene of the murder bid and was an acquaintance of the victim.
Thrown out of flat
She said on September 9 Docherty had been out in Cowdenbeath drinking with friends, including Ben Jenkins.
They went on to Dunfermline without the accused.
In the early hours of September 10 the party returned to Mr Jenkins’ sister’s flat.
Miss McQuillan said: “When the group arrived there the accused was already in the flat and was intoxicated.
“At about 5.30 Adele Jenkins asked the accused to leave because he was annoying the others.”
She said he was removed from the flat but returned a short time later armed with the cleaver and launched the attack.
Lord Young told Docherty, of Lochgelly: “You have pled guilty to a charge of attempted murder aggravated by the fact this crime was carried out while you were on bail.”
The judge said that because of the seriousness of the offence and the age of the offender he would call for a background report before sentencing Docherty.
Docherty was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on February 7 at the High Court in Paisley.
Previous victim took his own life
Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard in January 2019 how a house-warming party came to a ghastly end when guest Stewart Drummond was partially blinded when Docherty hurled a bottle and the shattered glass struck his eye.
Mr Drummond later took his own life.
Sheriff Charles MacNair told Docherty while it could not be known if Mr Drummond killed himself as a result of the incident, it would have been a “life-changing” event.
“You may not have foreseen the precise nature of the injuries caused,” he said.
“However, you certainly could have foreseen that your actions would cause him significant injury.”
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