Blind man stabbed flatmate to death after TV remote row got out of hand

A row over a TV remote ended in tragedy after a blind man stabbed his flatmate to death.

Scott Thomson, 57, and Jamie Murray lived together in Wythenshawe, in Greater Manchester, after they met in a hostel and became friends. Their friendships and living situation started to fall apart just months later after Thomson started to become suspicious of Murray. The turning point in their relationship appeared to come after Thomas let Murray use his bank account to withdraw some money, but he later accused his flatmate of keeping the change and most of the cash to himself.

The pair, who were both addicted to drugsand alcohol, saw the tensions between them dramatically escalate on December 4, 2024, during an argument over a TV remote. Thomson had also started to become suspicious around a new TV the housemates had bought for the flat, as Thomas claimed Murray was hogging the remote, according to Manchester Evening News.

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Manchester Crown Court heard that after going into the kitchen Thomson had gone back into the living room, where he and Mr Murray both slept on two sofas. At some point during this time Thomson, who is visually impaired, acquired a kitchen knife with a 19cm blade and moments later lashed out at his flatmate.

The knife punctured 8cm into Murray's chest and through his ribcage going "straight into his heart." Murray staggered into the street "bleeding profusely", where neighbours rushed to help him and called an ambulance. Despite the best efforts of medics Murray was pronounced dead at the scene.

Thomson was later convicted of murder after a trial at Manchester Crown Court. Prosecutor Rob Hall introduced Murray's children Ellie and Jamie Murray, who wept as they gave heart breaking impact statements about the loss of their father.

Defending, Nina Grahame KC told the court that Thomson had told police officer during interview: "You can't make me feel any worse than I already do for what happened." Ms Grahame KC added: "His life has been characterised by drug and alcohol addiction, by homelessness, and by associated mental health problems."

Judge John Potter said: "You acted in anger against someone whom you believed had intimidated and exploited you. You stabbed Mr Murray once with 'not necessarily a high degree of force', the knife not going fully into Mr Murray's body up to the hilt.

"Your poor vision may also be relevant here, you stabbing at the silhouette of someone in front of you who may have been moving at the time."

The judge added that evidence from an ophthalmologist assessing Thomson's eyesight, supported this, saying: "You would have been very unlikely to accurately aim for the heart or shoulder of your victim at the time that you stabbed him."

Judge Potter gave Thomson a life sentence with a minimum term of 18 years in prison before he can be considered for release by the parole board.

This included time already spent in custody, making the minimum term from his sentencing hearing 17 years and 172 days.