Family of murdered 'good Samaritan' seeks damages

Relatives of a "good Samaritan" murdered by a man who was only released from jail the day before are taking legal action against a number of authorities.

Father-of-one Alan Geddes, 56, was stabbed 40 times by Stuart Quinn after letting him stay in his home in Aberdeen in December 2019.

Quinn had gone to a homeless unit after his release only to find it was shut, before being taken in by Mr Geddes. Quinn was jailed for a minimum of 18 years for the murder.

Relatives of the victim are now pursuing a damages case in the Court of Session against the Scottish Prison Service, the Scottish government, NHS Grampian, Aberdeen City Council and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

Last year, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland concluded that the death of Mr Geddes may have been prevented had Quinn been offered accommodation when he left prison.

Quinn was said to be "upset and crying" on his release and was due to receive help for personal issues.

He later met Mr Geddes, who previously worked in offshore life support, and they got talking.

Mr Geddes offered to pay for Quinn to stay at a hotel, but it was full. He allowed Quinn into his flat in the city's Ruthrieston Crescent.

One resident later heard Quinn yelling: "Call the police, there's been a killing."

Mr Geddes was lying at the bottom of stairs. He suffered "multiple and significant" injuries.

Police arrived to find Quinn clutching a knife, which he threw down, and admitted what he had done.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland investigated the circumstances leading up to the killing.

The anonymised report found that Quinn, who was referred to as Mr TU, had four relatively brief admissions to psychiatric hospital between March and June 2018, when he was 32, and was diagnosed with drug-induced psychosis.

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

Quinn spent most of 2019 in prison, and that December he was released by a court with no support package in place and no accommodation.

The report said there was no certainty that further violence from Quinn could have been prevented.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said a fatal accident inquiry would not be held.

Craig Snee from Thompsons Solicitors said the family was looking to get answers, accountability and compensation after an "utterly tragic loss".

"They had been pushing for a fatal accident inquiry, which has been denied, so these are really the only steps they can possibly take, in order to obtain answers and to obtain justice for this horrible, horrible event," he said.

Mr Snee said while they could not put an exact figure on the damages being sought, they were looking to recover a "substantial" amount for the family.

"It appears when you look at the circumstances of the case that there have been failings on numerous different levels, that could easily have prevented the tragic events of what occurred.

"If they had been stopped, it would have meant that a family hadn’t lost a father, and a brother and a loved one."

The Scottish Prison Service said: “Our thoughts remain with the family of Mr Geddes.

"As this is subject to ongoing proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

The Scottish government said: "Our thoughts continue to be with Alan Geddes’ family.

"As this is a live civil case, the Scottish government cannot comment.”

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

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

A spokesperson for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service confirmed that a Personal Injuries Summons had been received and registered by the Court of Session.

"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 13 May 2025," the statement added.