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Posted on the 31st January 2025 in PHTM News
CAREER CRIMINAL CONVICTED OF MURDERING DUNDEE TAXI DRIVER OVER CIGARETTE
Steven Greig, a career criminal with nearly 200 prior convictions, has been found guilty of murdering taxi driver, Mark Ward in Dundee.
The brutal attack occurred after Mr Ward, 55, (right) refused to give Greig a cigarette. Greig, 47, now faces a life sentence.
The incident took place on April 6, 2022, in Coupar Angus Road. Witnesses described seeing Greig push Mr Ward down an embankment, leaving him lying lifeless in the road.
Lewis Webster, recounted seeing the two men talking before the “proper push” that sent Mr Ward tumbling. “It wasn't just messing around,” Webster said. “The one who hit his head was lying on the road. The guy who pushed him didn't stop to hang around. Like he was unbothered. Like he didn't care about what happened.”
Another witness, Matthew Coughlin, described seeing the two men “wrestling” before finding Mr Ward on the ground, bleeding and struggling to breathe.
"The blood’s pouring out his nose,” Coughlin said in his 999 call, played to the jury. “He’s out for the count. You better hurry up or this boy will be away. I don't think this boy's going to live. His head's an awfy mess.”
Mr Ward suffered severe head injuries and required 24-hour care following the attack. A statement presented to the jury detailed the extent of the cabbie’s injuries, stating he was “critically unwell with life-threatening head injuries” and underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain.
He remained unable to communicate, move purposefully, or care for himself, requiring tube feeding. He eventually died on April 5, 2023, almost a year to the day after the initial assault. “He was unable to walk, talk or care for himself,” Advocate depute Mark Mohammed KC told the jury.
Greig was already serving a sentence for the initial assault, having been jailed for five years and four months in January 2023. However, following Mr. Ward's death, the Crown brought murder charges.
Greig denied the charges, claiming he did not struggle with Mr Ward, push him, or kick and stamp on his head. He was convicted despite his denials.
The court heard that Greig was on bail at the time of the murder, despite his extensive criminal record, which includes 189 previous convictions for offences such as dishonesty, knife possession, drugs, and traffic violations.
Following his arrest, Greig told police, "I'm on five bails. That's me f----d - all because he wouldn't give me a fag."
Lady Drummond deferred sentencing until March at the High Court in Edinburgh.
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