My brave, moral and compassionate father

Senior News Reporter

Friday 31 August 2012

THE son of pensioner James Simpson, who was murdered trying to stop a thief taking his car, spoke of the family's devastation while paying tribute to his "brave", "moral" and "compassionate" father.

LOSS: Jamie Simpson's dad James.

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MARTIN WILLIAMS

Christopher Grenfell was jailed for life for the murder of the 76-year-old former lorry driver after being convicted of running him over with his Land Rover Discovery outside his home in Ashgill, South Lanarkshire, last November.

Grenfell, 25, claimed the death of Mr Simpson was accidental. His lawyers sought a verdict of culpable homicide but jurors at the High Court in Glasgow found him guilty of murder after hearing how he reversed over the pensioner.Jamie Simpson said the death of his father had turned his mother Minnie, who witnessed the murder, from "a happy, confident and independent woman" into a "shattered, nervous and lonely widow".He said she now uses the phrase "if Jimmy was here" every day.Speaking of the devastating effect of the murder, Mr Simpson added: "This is the sentence that Christopher Grenfell has handed to my father, mother and me."He described his father as a man "filled with passion and compassion in equal measures". "He cared sincerely about people and would not hesitate to offer help and advice to anyone where he was in a position to help. He met life with a positive and unquestioning optimism and, together with my mother, Minnie, had achieved a deep state of contentment in their later years."Mr Simpson said his father "had a strong sense of right and wrong and pursued his morals through his actions at all times". He said: "This, combined with his bravery, resulted in his pursuit of the individual who decided it was his right to take property belonging to my mother and father."Christopher Grenfell decided to counter the actions of my father by committing the murder of a 76-year-old man when he had the clear option of simply driving away."In the wake of this choice, he not only left a man dying in the street, but also left his wife absolutely devastated."Mr Simpson also paid tribute to Strathclyde Police and Crown Office officials for their committed professionalism and genuine compassion and empathy during what he said had been an extremely difficult time for the family.West of Scotland procurator-fiscal John Dunn said after the verdict that the case involved the tragic and needless loss of life of a man who was simply trying to protect his property"."A family has been robbed of a husband and father for no reason other than selfishness and greed," he said. Grenfell, of Larkhall, South Lanarkshire, was jailed for a minimum of 17 years at the High Court in Glasgow as it emerged he had a string of convictions for road traffic offences.He was found guilty of dangerous driving just months before the murder and was also banned from driving at the time.Grenfell was jailed in 2010 for the reset of a stolen Nissan Qashqai and has a further conviction for assaulting a prison officer while behind bars.Co-accused William MacVicar, 24, who did not face the murder charge, was convicted of car theft, but admonished due to the time spent on remand.Jailing Grenfell, judge Lord Burns told him he deliberately used Mr Simpson's car to inflict fatal and devastating injuries.He said: "You fled the scene of this crime knowing that this elderly man must have been gravely injured, and abandoned the car and threw away the keys."Your actions against him were deplorable and motivated by greed. No doubt they were also done in panic since you cannot have expected Mr Simpson to put up such vigorous resistance to your plan."He called Grenfell, who stole the black Land Rover after smashing a window at the Simpsons' home and snatching the keys, "a menace on the road" and banned him from driving for life.Mrs Simpson, who tended to her husband of 46 years at the scene, had told the trial: "I will never forget it as long as I live. It flashes before my eyes and I cannot get to sleep because of it."

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My brave, moral and compassionate father

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