Hammer attacker’s 12 years for ‘act of pure evil’
A VIOLENT robber who smashed a shop worker over the head with a hammer ten times leaving her with life-changing injuries was yesterday jailed for 12 years.
James McMurdy, 40, carried out the sickening attack on Senga Houston, 63, after he had grabbed £500 from the till.
At the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Mulholland told McMurdy: ‘What you have done was nothing short of barbaric – an act of pure evil.’
The court heard that after taking the cash, McMurdy hit Mrs Houston over the head. Then, as she cowered trying to protect herself, McMurdy pulled her hands away and struck her over the head another nine times.
She suffered multiple fractures to her skull and injury to her brain, and may need medical care for the rest of her life. Her sight has been permanently affected and she can no longer drive or work.
Lord Mulholland told McMurdy that, but for his guilty plea, he would have jailed him for 18 years.
He also ordered McMurdy to be monitored on licence for four years after his release from prison and told him: ‘Her life has been changed forever. You have shown no remorse.’
McMurdy raided the store in Catrine, Ayrshire, desperate for cash as he faced eviction from his flat.
Mrs Houston, who had worked at the Premier Convenience store in Catrine for eight years, was there alone around 2.40pm when McMurdy came in through the back of the shop.
He was clutching a hammer and a knife, with his face covered by a piece of bedsheet. McMurdy moved Mrs Houston towards the counter and demanded she open the till.
CCTV footage of the horrific attack on November 5, 2017, was played in court at an earlier hearing. McMurdy refused to look at the screens as it was played.
After the attack, a shopper found Mrs Houston lying in a pool of blood.
McMurdy was arrested and confessed. A bloodstained hammer with Mrs Houston’s DNA on it, a knife and £485 in cash was found in his flat.
McMurdy claimed he was unaware how many times he had hit Mrs Houston but thought it was ‘only twice’.
Mrs Houston was only discharged from hospital on January 10 this year – two months after the attack.
McMurdy, who has a history of violence, pleaded guilty to robbery and attempted murder.
He showed no emotion as he was led away to begin his sentence.
Speaking after sentencing, Detective Superintendent Allan Burton said: ‘McMurdy’s evil and senseless actions robbed an innocent woman of her independence and have left her family completely devastated.
‘He is a very disturbing individual and clearly a danger to the public.
‘I hope that today’s outcome provides some sense of closure to Mrs Houston and her family, who can now hopefully begin to move on from this horrendous ordeal.’