A client who admitted trying to murder his own solicitor in his office has been jailed for 11 years. Esayas Neguse entered the Glasgow office of Muhammad Shoaib in September 2022 and stabbed him in the neck and body with a knife.
As two of Shoaib’s colleagues tried to intervene, he headbutted one and bit the hand of the other.
Neguse, 37, pleaded guilty on the third day of his trial at the High Court in Glasgow to attempted murder, two charges of assault, possession of a knife and behaving in a threatening and abusive manner at Govan police station where he had been taken following the incident.
In sentencing, judge Lord Colbeck said the Eritrean national, who was an asylum seeker, had intended to kill a solicitor who was trying to represent him and caused severe and permanent injuries. Shoaib suffered a stab wound to his chest and right hand and has said he feared he was about to die.
Neguse had arrived without an appointment but Shoaib had nevertheless agreed to see him. Witnesses said the client appeared ‘unhappy and agitated’ and kept his hand in the right pocket of his jacket. Within seconds of being ushered into Shoaib’s office, he produced a kitchen knife and proceeded to attack the lawyer.
Police praised the two colleagues who heard Shoaib’s shouts for help and ran in to confront Neguse. They attempted to disarm Neguse and wrestled him out of the office and into the reception area while the solicitor called emergency services. Police officers in a passing van spotted the struggle and apprehended Neguse before finding the solicitor bleeding from his wounds.
Moira Orr, who leads on homicide and major crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: ‘This was a shocking attack on a lawyer who was going about his everyday business working for the benefit of his clients.
‘Had it not been for the brave intervention of his colleagues, this attack could have had tragic repercussions. And it is only right that we acknowledge their heroic actions.’
