A TROUBLED ex-footballer who beat a dog walker to death has been ordered to be held at a psychiatric hospital without limit of time.
David Johnstone, 36, battered Frank Kinnis, 83, so badly he was left unrecognisable and suffered a fatal brain bleed.
In a horror 40-minute rampage, he hospitalised two other victims, Rev Morris Smith and wife Janette, both 70, and attacked two policemen.
Schizophrenic Johnstone was previously cleared of murder, attempted murder and police assaults on the grounds of mental ill health.
The High Court in Edinburgh today heard the former Elgin City player had suffered psychotic symptoms for around three years before the attacks near the town.
Psychiatrist Dr Natasha Billcliff, 50, said Johnstone, from Elgin, was “paranoid and edgy with others” and smoked cannabis from age 14 — if not younger — but did not realise he had an illness.
She said he has shown “remarkable” improvement since being treated with medication at the State Hospital in Carstairs, Lanarkshire.
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His defence lawyer Ian Duguid QC told the hearing: “Now he realises the consequences of his actions he is full of regret and remorse for what took place, without having appreciated it when it was happening.”
Judge Lord Uist ordered that Johnstone be detained under “special security” to protect the public.
In July, the court heard the design technician approached the Smiths as they walked their dog at Birkenhill Wood at 9am on October 21, 2019.
He repeatedly punched and kicked the helpless couple, causing them both serious head injuries.
At 9.40am, he came across Mr Kinnis at a farm track nearby and was seen apparently throttling the great-grandad, who died in hospital from blunt force head and face injuries.
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Johnstone attacked two PCs at the scene and was later arrested.
The court heard his parents twice rang NHS 24 to try to get him sectioned, and his GP referred him to a psychiatrist but he missed the appointment.
Lord Uist said the case was “extremely sad”.