A Dundee murderer will not serve extra time behind bars after he was caught with a deadly weapon made from part of a Covid testing kit.
Thomas Henderson was found with the handcrafted blade while waiting trial for the murder of father-of-two Lee Small.
Henderson, 32, admitted the killing and was jailed for life in May last year.
He was told he must serve at least 18 years in jail.
The killer returned to the dock via video at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted possession of a sharply pointed weapon on March 1 2023.
Assaulted
Fiscal depute Elizabeth Hodgson said the weapon was discovered during a routine search of Henderson’s cell.
“The accused was the sole occupant of the cell at the time,” she said.
“During the search, prison officers found a metal screw attached to a piece of plastic.”
She said the screw was about one-and-a-half inches long and was stuck to a plastic Covid tester.
Solicitor Jim Caird, defending, said that his client had been assaulted while on remand.
“He was attacked with some kind of weapon, which left a scar on his face,” he said.
“Someone had handed this item to him.
“He took it because he was in a bad place at the time.
“But since this incident, he has settled down.”
Sheriff Garry Sutherland jailed Henderson for two months, but the jail time will run concurrently alongside his life sentence.
Killed by neck wound
Henderson and co-accused Michael King killed Lee Small after gaining entry to his flat in Ballindean Terrace by pretending they wanted to buy drugs.
Mr Small, 40, died within minutes after suffering an “unsurvivable” knife wound to the left side of his neck.
King was jailed for 10 years and nine months after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of culpable homicide.
Lord Mulholland told the pair at the High Court in Edinburgh: “This was an appalling crime.”
He said: “By your actions you have taken the life of another man and you will both pay a heavy price for that.”
The High Court in Dundee heard how Henderson and King were spotted getting rid of their knife and bloody clothes in a wheelie bin at a nearby garden.
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