A Dundee killer who subjected his victim to a prolonged ordeal of torture has been jailed for nine years.
As we reported, Mark Anderson trussed up Nigel Poustie and beat him with a baseball bat and hammer and scalded him with boiling water before his death.
Anderson had originally faced a murder charge but pled guilty to a reduced charge of culpable homicide.
Anderson attacked the former DIY store worker at his home in Thurso Crescent, in Menzieshill, Dundee, after vowing: “I’ll f—ing torture him.”
At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Boyd of Duncansby told 51-year-old Anderson: “Over a protracted period of time on July 3 and 4 last year you subjected Mr Poustie to the most appalling attack, which can only be described as torture.
“At various times you placed a pillow case over his head. You poured boiling water, scalding him, resulting in injuries to his face.”
The judge added: “One can only imagine the fear he experienced during this time.”
Lord Boyd told Anderson that nothing could excuse the violence he had meted out to his 49-year-old victim and he would have jailed him for 12 years if he had been convicted of the crime after a trial.
Advocate depute Adrian Cottam said Anderson was suspected to be involved in the sale of drugs and Mr Poustie had told friends that he had previously asked him to store diazepam tablets for him.
The killing was sparked by a row over missing drugs.
A witness said Anderson became “irate” and began shouting at Mr Poustie. He bound his victim’s hands and feet with cable ties and sat him on the chair.
He repeatedly punched him to the head leaving him bleeding and called for weapons to be brought to him. He repeatedly struck Mr Poustie on the knees with a bat and hammer.
Mr Cottam said: “The deceased repeatedly begged the accused to stop what he was doing. However the accused stated that the deceased had betrayed him and that he would ‘take what was given to him’. He continued to strike him. The deceased was crying out in pain.”
The advocate depute said that at times Anderson put a pillow case over his victim’s head and claimed this was because he wanted to “f—ing kill” him when he looked at his face.
Anderson told a woman to boil a kettle of water and then poured boiling water over his victim’s head.
Mr Poustie was later seen out in the street injured, bleeding, disorientated and stumbling about. He collapsed in Charleston Drive and an ambulance was called. He was later pronounced dead in hospital.
Pathologists took the view that although the victim had underlying problems, including heart disease, these alone were not responsible for the death.
Police recovered a claw hammer from Anderson’s home which had minute spots of blood on it. These provided a DNA match with Mr Poustie.
Defence counsel Mark Stewart QC said Anderson had shown “genuine remorse and sorrow” for what had happened. He added: “I am asked to publicly offer his sincerest apologies to the family.”
