A murderer will serve at least 20 years behind bars for beating and stabbing to death a 90-year-old retired doctor in his Forfar home.
Alan Massie, 32, killed Dr Bill Yule after entering his Hillside Road home uninvited last December.
He repeatedly stabbed the widower – twice in the neck, perforating his jugular vein, and once in the stomach.
He inflicted blunt force injuries and caused a cooker to fall on top of his victim, who had defensive wounds inflicted during the struggle.
Massie, also known as Jason Massie, from Arbroath, was on bail at the time.
He was jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years at the High Court in Edinburgh for the killing, in Hillside Road, Forfar, on December 6.
Prosecutor Graeme Jessop said the doctor managed to contact a community alarm operator during the desperate struggle by pressing a button on his wrist.
During the call, Massie pretended to the operator he was the doctor’s grandson and the alert had been accidental.
Massie was spotted by the doctor’s cleaner – who discovered his body – and other neighbours as he tried to make his escape.
He had a knife when he was caught by police.
‘Shattered peace and safety’
In sentencing, Judge Lord Fairley told Massie: “It is clear to me that Dr Yule was a much-loved father and grandfather.
“He was a man who contributed significantly to society in his role as a GP until he retired in 1991.
“By late 2022 Dr Yule was a vulnerable man in his 90s.
“His wife passed away in 2015 and he chose to continue to live in the family home with regular assistance from carers.
“He should have been able to do so in peace and safety.
“By your actions you shattered that peace and safety.
“Dr Yule was vulnerable and defenceless man.
“You entered his home intending to steal from him and then inflicted on him a murderous assault which was as brutal as it was cowardly.
“The level of evil required to act as you did was almost beyond comprehension.
“No sentence I impose will provide any comfort to the doctor’s family for the enduring hurt and pain you have caused for his death and in the manner of it”.
He said the minimum term before Massie can apply for parole would have been 24 years but for his guilty plea.
House raid goes wrong
Mr Jessop said Massie had been causing trouble across Forfar on the morning of the murder, including acting suspiciously in the town’s Tesco, entering someone’s home illegally in Academy Street and threatening a householder in Newmonthill Road.
He stole from a car near Dr Yule’s home, where the door had been left unlocked by his carer at his request.
Massie entered the house and searched the property with the intention of stealing.
The advocate depute said: “At some stage he came across Dr Yule and assaulted him by inflicting blunt force trauma injuries to his head, neck and body and repeatedly struck him on the head, neck and body with a knife or knives.
“During his assault upon the deceased, the cooker appears to have fallen on top of him causing significant blunt force injuries”.
The court heard shortly after noon a call was made from Dr Yule’s community alarm unit, answered by a social care officer.
A recorded transcript was read out in court, in which Massie says: “Grandad, you’ve rung the community alarm”.
The social care officer asks if everything is ok before Massie says: “He’s ok, he’s ok.”
The operator asks if it has been an accidental press, to which Massie replies: “Yeah he’s ok now, the phone just… he’s ok now sweetheart”.
The call is then ended but continues to record, with groaning and banging, along with the sound of someone speaking.
Dr Yule’s cleaner arrived and saw Massie in the driveway with a rucksack.
He claimed the doctor had fallen and told the woman he was his grandson, which she knew to be untrue.
The cleaner said the house had been ransacked and Dr Yule was lying on the kitchen floor next to the upended cooker, with blood on his hands and around his head and a blue sheet covering his waist and legs.
After she dialled 999 it became clear the pensioner was dead.
Massie’s incriminating statements
Shortly after 1.30pm, police found Massie about two minutes away from the murder site, under the influence of drugs or alcohol and with the doctor’s car key and house key.
He had blood on his hands, a cut finger and sugar in his hair.
A black-handled kitchen knife, alcohol and cleaning materials and a hammer taken from the house, were all recovered.
Massie made various incriminating statements while in custody, read to court by Mr Jessop.
He said : “The old guy’s probably still alive, just trying to make it sound worse than it is.
“The guy had a carpet, he could have tripped on that”.
He told the officers: “I’m glad I caved his face in, f****g old beast.”
He also said: “Wait til you see the pictures of the guy I just killed. It’s not a pretty sight.”
He went on to say: “It wasn’t meant to be murder, it was just to scare him and the guy died.
“You know what they say, an eye for an eye, a life for a life”.
Dr Yule’s blood and Massie’s DNA were discovered on both the knife found in Massie’s rucksack and a lock knife found on a kitchen table.
His clothes were stained with his victim’s blood.
Lengthy record
The judge highlighted the criminal record of Massie – who had been living in homeless accommodation in Arbroath while on bail charged with shoplifting and was abusing cannabis and Diazepam – including numerous convictions for theft, housebreaking and drugs.
He added: “Your record suggests that, in contrast to Dr Yule, you have contributed nothing or little positive to the community in which you live.”
The judge added: “You have no regard whatsoever for court orders.
“Your inevitable incarceration today… can only be seen as a substantial improvement to society”.
Massie’s agent, Mark Stewart KC offered no mitigation for his client but said he “apologises” to Dr Yule’s family.
Massie showed no emotion as he was led away from the dock.
Dr Yule grew up in Morayshire and worked as a doctor in the Royal Navy before moving to Forfar, where he worked as a GP until he retired in 1992.
He had two daughters – Rosemary and Katey, who has passed away.
Having provided a victim statement, Rosemary was in court to hear proceedings but declined to comment afterwards.
Dr Yule became a much-loved figure in the community, authoring two books.
A memorial service was held for him shortly after his death, where family and friends paid tribute to the “hugely dedicated” father of two.
Police welcome conviction
Detective Inspector Craig Ross from the Police Scotland Major Investigations Team said: “The pain someone feels when losing a loved one in such circumstances is unimaginable.
“I hope today’s outcome can bring some degree of closure to the family and friends of Dr Yule.
“I would also like to thank the local community for their support and co-operation throughout the investigation process.
“No-one’s life should be cut short and it’s fitting that the person responsible for Dr Yule’s death is being held to account for his actions.”
READ MORE: Bill Yule: Murder of dedicated community doctor provoked shock and revulsion across Angus
