A Scots killer who stabbed a grandad in the heart with a kitchen knife and later taunted his family has died behind bars.
Calum Tole, then 30, boasted he would ‘only be 45’ when he finished a life sentence for murdering Ronnie Fraser, 44, in a Dundee flat.
Tole launched into the twisted outburst in front of the grieving Fraser family as he was jailed at the High Court in Livingston in 2012.
However the convicted killer died aged 42 at University Hospital Monklands in Airdrie last week after emergency services were called to HMP Shotts.
Drug addict Tole killed beloved grandad Ronnie after a petty row in the hallway of a block of flats. Ronnie’s partner at the time watched him die.
Trouble had flared after Tole and his girlfriend, who were both high on drugs, pestered Ronnie repeatedly for cigarettes. Ronnie became annoyed and there was a struggle, which left Tole bleeding.
Tole then went into girlfriend Natalie Buchan’s flat, grabbed a seven-inch kitchen knife, then went back into the hall and stabbed Ronnie in the heart.
Despite witnesses to the attack and strong DNA evidence, Tole denied murdering Ronnie.
He launched a defence claim that a Chinese takeaway he ate before the attack may have been spiked with drugs.
He also lodged a defence of “automatism”, claiming he was not in control of himself and he did not know what he was doing when he stabbed Ronnie.
Tole later withdrew the claims. He did not give evidence or present any witnesses in his defence and a jury at the High Court in Livingston took 30 minutes to find him guilty.
Temporary judge Michael O’Grady said he had noted with concern that Tole had shown “not a hint of remorse” and “not a flicker of concern” for the victim.
When he was told he would spend at least 18-years behind bars, Tole shouted in court: “Get a grip man – happy days.
He added: “I’m still alive. Eighteen years, that’ll do me. I’ll only be 45 when I get out.”
The sickening response was heard by Ronnie’s daughter, sister and other relatives.
At the time, Ronnie’s sister Karen Beattie read out a statement from the family outside court at the time of the sentencing.
She said: “This was a premeditated murder which significantly impacted on all of our families’ lives.
“It was a cold, calculated and brutal act by a cowardly individual who, whilst under the influence of drugs, violently and fatally attacked and murdered Ronald.”
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “Every death, whether in prison custody or in our communities, is a tragedy for all those who knew and supported the individual.
“Following the death of someone in our care, Police Scotland are advised, and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal. Fatal Accident Inquiries are held in due course.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Tuesday, 26 November, 2024, we received a report of the death of a 42-year-old man within University Hospital Monklands, Airdrie. He had been taken to hospital from HMP Shotts.
“There are no suspicious circumstances.”
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