Frenzied stabbing was "wicked" attempt to murder victim in Buckie attack
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A MORAY man who carried out a frenzied attack on a young man by stabbing him 11 times with a knife was told by a judge at the High Court in Inverness he was facing a "significant period of imprisonment."
Chay Ewing (24), described as a prisoner at Inverness, was found guilty unanimously by a jury on Tuesday, October 24 of attempting to murder Alekzander Dougall in what was a "murderous attack" said Advocate Depute Shahid Latif, prosecuting.
The jury took 90 minutes to reach its verdict.
Ewing had denied that in the early hours of March 26, 2022, at a flat at The Meadows, Buckie he repeatedly struck Mr Dougall on the body with a knife to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life and attempted to murder him.
Mr Latif, in his summing up to the jury, said that Mr Dougall's schooldays' friend Tristan Church was also in the flat, and to his credit ran for help and tried to stem the blood gushing from various wounds on the victim's back, side and leg as his pal pleaded "Don't let me die."
And with their verdict, the jury supported Mr Latif's call for them to reject Ewing's special defence blaming Mr Church for the horror attack, when in fact Mr Church had done so much to save his friend while Ewing fled the scene.
The advocate depute said that Ewing's violence erupted as he and Mr Dougall talked about two Moray families and Ewing told him, falsely, that he was actually Lee MacPhee.
Mr Latif said: "There were 11 stab wounds in different parts of Mr Dougall's body which I say proves his wicked intention to kill him.
"I suggest this was a murderous attack with the intention to kill Mr Dougall."
Referring to evidence that Ewing told an acquaintance "I stabbed him up," Mr Latif said this was an admission of guilt, and called on the jury to reject a submission that Ewing might have said "He stabbed him up," referring to Mr Church.
"I ask you to reject any suggestion that Tristan Church was responsible," said Mr Latif.
Addressing the jury, defence advocate Bill Adam KC said that Mr Dougall said in evidence that he did not think that his friend Mr Church would want to stab him.
Mr Adam continued: "But people fall out, friends fall out and things happen."
He also pointed out there was no forensic evidence against Ewing.
Ewing was also found unanimously guilty of earlier in the evening on a bus from Elgin to Buckie suddenly assaulting a male passenger, by striking him on the head and robbing him of his mobile phone.
After the jury returned its verdicts, Mr Latif told the court that Ewing had "multiple previous convictions including possession of bladed weapons, assault and assault to serious injury, and had served prison terms before.
Judge Graham Buchanan told Ewing: "You have a significant record of previous convictions for all types of crime but particularly crimes of violence."
He called for reports and continued the case for sentencing in Aberdeen on November 21.
