Man convicted of murder after attack victim left with brain damage dies

A man jailed for attempted murder has now been convicted of murder after the victim later died.

John McNamara, 54, stamped and jumped on James Donaldson at the victim’s flat in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, on October 12, 2019.

Mr Donaldson was left brain-damaged and needing round-the-clock care following the attack.

He was latterly in a nursing home in Clydebank before being struck down with Covid at the height of the pandemic in 2020.

Mr Donaldson passed away at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow on May 29 of that year. He was 49 when he died.

McNamara had been jailed for six years in February 2020 after pleading guilty to the attempted murder of his victim.

But, prosecutors led in the trial by advocate depute Adrian Stalker, brought McNamara back into the dock at the High Court in Glasgow following the death.

McNamara had denied a murder charge.

But, jurors convicted him, and he was jailed for life by Judge Lord Arthurson.

McNamara was ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years, back-dated to October 2019, when he was first remanded in custody.

It emerged he already had a number of convictions for violence, including a five-year prison term in 1996.

Sentencing, Lord Arthurson told him: “The jury rejected your contention that you were not responsible for your victim’s death due to the contraction by him of Covid while he was in the care home.

“A highly experienced forensic pathologist was clear in her evidence – that while it was the primary cause of death, the injuries sustained by him from your attack and the resultant disability were very significant contributory factors.”

McNamara, formerly of Clydebank, gave a thumbs up to three women in the public benches as he was led back to the cells.

The court in 2020 heard how McNamara attacked Mr Donaldson after an apparent row between the pair.

Prosecutors at the time said the victim would “require care for the rest of his life”.

McNamara’s then-lawyer Jennifer Bain said he was “shocked” at how he reacted that day.

She added: “It had been mentioned how he may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, in particular from witnessing the murder of a friend in 2017.

“He is anxious that there is something there that has not been properly investigated.”

The then defence advocate also told the court there had “not been a friendly background” between McNamara and Mr Donaldson prior to the incident.

McNamara was prosecuted for murder after it was decided that what he did was linked to the man’s eventual death.

But, his legal team at the trial – headed by Donald Findlay KC – refuted this and argued that what “killed” Mr Donaldson was due to “Covid arriving in a care home in Clydebank”.

Lord Arthurson told McNamara that his “criminal conduct” had deprived Mr Donaldson’s grieving family of his “presence in their lives”.

As a result of the guilty verdict, the judge quashed the attempted murder conviction since both stemmed from the same attack.