Family of murdered man to take legal action over failures and accountability

The family of a “good Samaritan” who was murdered by a man released from prison just one day prior to the killing are seeking damages against a number of Scottish authorities.

Alan Geddes, 56, was murdered by Stuart Quinn in December 2019, after the latter had just been released from prison the day before.

Mr Geddes, a father-of-one, had offered Mr Quinn, who was homeless, a place to stay for the night at his home in Aberdeen after the pair met during an evening out.

Mr Quinn stabbed Mr Geddes 40 times at his home, and in February 2021, he was jailed for a minimum of 18 years for the murder.

Alan Geddes | Police Scotland

It is understood the killer had attempted to enter a homeless unit after he was released from prison, only to find it shut.

Mr Geddes’ relatives are now taking legal action in the court of session against the Scottish Government, NHS Grampian, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), Aberdeen City Council and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), on the grounds that they failed to prevent the attack from happening, and for a lack of accountability.

SCTS said the next scheduled hearing on the matter is due to take place over four days, starting May 13 next year.

Last year, an anonymised report by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland investigated the circumstances leading up to the murder.

It found the killer, referred to in the report as Mr TU, was 32 years old when he had four relatively brief admissions to psychiatric hospital between March and June 2018, and was diagnosed with drug-induced psychosis.

On each admission, Mr TU presented with paranoid delusional beliefs and was detained under the Mental Health Act.

He spent most of 2019 in prison and in December that year, having been on remand, was liberated by the court with no support package in place and no accommodation.

The report said that had he been offered accommodation, this may have reduced the risk to the victim.

It made a number of other recommendations to the Scottish Government, going forward.

A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the murder was never held.

In response to the family’s decision to take legal action, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Our thoughts continue to be with Alan Geddes’ family.

“As this is a live civil case, the Scottish Government cannot comment.”

An NHS Grampian spokesperson said: “We can confirm legal action has been raised against us. It is being dealt with by the NHS Scotland Central Legal Office.”

Aberdeen City Council said it is unable to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

An SPS spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with the family of Mr Geddes. As this is subject to ongoing proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

An SCTS spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a Personal Injuries Summons was received and registered by the Court of Session on December 6, 2022.

“It would not be appropriate for us to comment further on this case ahead of the next scheduled hearing, which is for a four-day proof commencing on May 13, 2025.”