Cambuslang man jailed for attempted murder of estranged partner

A man who tried to kill his estranged partner days after being banned from hassling her has been jailed for six years.

Andrew O'Hagan stabbed social worker Lorraine Gordon 14 times during the attack at a house in Cambuslang, near Glasgow.

The 56 year-old – who had once been a £50,000-a-year local government worker – had accused Lorraine of seeing another man.

O'Hagan struck on June 8 this year having been hit with a non-harassment order preventing him from causing stress and alarm to Lorraine three days before.

He returned to the High Court in Glasgow having earlier pleaded guilty to attempted murder.

As well as the jail-term, Lord Mulholland also ordered O'Hagan to be supervised for a further four years on his release.

The judge told him: “Had it not been for the skill of the medical team who treated her, you could have been facing a charge of murder.

“From reading a victim impact statement, she will not let your conduct towards her defeat her. You should be ashamed. You are not the victim – she is.”

A previous hearing was told the couple had been together for 22 years.

It was said to be a “bolt out of the blue” to O'Hagan when the relationship ended.

He then left the house they shared in Cambuslang and moved to nearby Rutherglen.

On the day of the attack, he confronted Lorraine stating: “Who are you seeing? I'll give you 10 minutes to tell me.”

Raging O'Hagan then punched her in the face, ripped her dress then forced her upstairs with a knife at her back.

He then made a string of bizarre calls to friends claiming Lorraine had tried to stab him and that he reacted in self-defence.

O'Hagan went on to text Lorraine's brother and sister in law pretending to be her.

The message stated they were out for lunch discussing money issue – but the victim's relatives were suspicious and called police.

Officers could hear Lorraine crying when they turned up at the house. O'Hagan told them to “f*** off”.

Minutes later, the victim screamed: “He is stabbing me.”

One officer smashed down the front door while another found O'Hagan at the back of the property.

Lorraine was discovered in the en-suite bathroom drenched in blood.

Prosecutor Owen Mullan said: “She told police: 'Andrew done this to me. He is my partner...no, my ex-partner'.

“They asked what had injured her and she pointed below the bedroom window stating: 'The knife on the floor'.”

The court heard she had 14 stab wounds to her chest and arms as well as a punctured lung.

Tony Lenehan, defending, said O'Hagan had struggled with the breakdown of his relationship, the death of his father and financial worries.

The advocate added: “He cannot explain the decision to put a knife in his hand that day. It makes no sense to him now.

“He is a man if we had spoke to him last year would have been outraged at the thought he would be in the high court facing custody.”

Mr Lenehan said O'Hagan had once been an “important part of the community” and had previously been “commended” in his work.

Lord Mulholland also imposed on O'Hagan a separate non-harassment order in connection with Lorraine.

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