Edinburgh stone killer jailed for murdering pal with ‘terrifying array of weapons’

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A GRANDFATHER who murdered a friend by beating him with a terrifying array of weapons has been jailed for 15 years.

Ronald Stone, 51, struck 48-year-old Sean Waggett with a hammer, a rock, a stone, a piece of wood, a dog lead and a brick during a horrifying attack on September 20 2018.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard on Thursday how Stone assaulted Mr Waggett in the city’s Dalry and Gorgie Park.

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He attacked Mr Waggett - who was known to friends as Geordie Sean - after recovering from a near fatal overdose of heroin.

Ronald Stone has been jailed for the murder. Pic: Police ScotlandRonald Stone has been jailed for the murder. Pic: Police Scotland
Ronald Stone has been jailed for the murder. Pic: Police Scotland

The court heard that Mr Waggett injected the drug into Stone and paramedics had to resuscitate him.

In the moments before the attack, Stone shouted to Mr Waggett: “‘You could have killed me, my grandkids could have been left without a grandfather.’”

A witness then seen Stone lash out at his victim with a variety of weapons.

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Prosecution lawyer Jane Farquharson QC told judge Lord Boyd that pathologists examining Mr Wagget’s body found “a large number of blunt force injuries”.

A general view of the High Court in Edinburgh.A general view of the High Court in Edinburgh.
A general view of the High Court in Edinburgh.

She added: “In short, pathologists noted a large number of blunt force injuries predominantly to the head and face including lacerations, abrasions and bruises.”

Ms Farquharson said there were many more blunt force type injuries and that the victim’s skull was “shattered” by the impact.

Ms Farquharson spoke moments after Stone, a prisoner of HMP Edinburgh, pleaded guilty to a charge of murder.

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On Thursday, Ms Farquharson said the two men were homeless and shared a tent within woodland at the park.

Mr Waggett was born in the north-east of England but stayed within the Edinburgh area.

Ms Farquharson said that a week before the fatal attack, Stone was rushed to hospital after receiving a heroin overdose from his pal.

On the night of the assault, the court heard that Mr Waggett wanted to get some more heroin.

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Ms Farquharson added: “This angered the accused, who reminded the deceased that he had almost killed him in the last week with heroin. The accused stated that this would have left his family without him.”

Ms Farquharson said the pair started fighting with each other. Stone managed to obtain a hammer and struck his friend with it across the knees.

Ms Farquharson said: “He went at the deceased with a ball peen hammer, hitting him across the knees and shouting over and over ‘you could have killed me, my grandkids could have been left without a grandfather.’”

The court heard that after being struck with the hammer, Mr Waggett fell to the ground and the accused struck him with a piece of wood.

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He then got a dog lead and struck his victim with it over the back of his head, his arms, his back and his legs.

Stone then picked up a stone which weighed 1.15kg and struck him over the head with it. Mr Waggett was also struck with brick which weighed approximately 3.17kgs.

Stone then walked away from the scene and was arrested later the same evening in Edinburgh City Centre.

Police recovered forensic evidence which linked Stone to the crime and spoke to an eyewitness.

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After being arrested, the court heard that Stone was medically examined by a psychiatrist.

The advocate depute added: “When asked how he felt about what happened, he became tearful and said ‘I can’t turn back time.’”

Defence advocate Shelagh McCall QC said her client had accepted his guilt and instructed her to enter a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity.

She added: “Mr Stone accepts that he had lost control of himself. There’s been no attempt to shirk responsibility for his actions.”

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Passing sentence, Lord Boyd told Stone that if he hadn’t pleaded guilty, he would have received an 18 year sentence.

He added: “You have pleaded guilty to the brutal murder of Sean Waggett.

“This was a sustained attack over a period of time in which you used no less than six weapons.

“I have no doubt from the level of extreme violence that you intended to kill Mr Waggett and continued the assault to ensure you achieved that end.

“There is only one sentence I can impose and that is imprisonment.”

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