Killer caught with phone in jail

MacMaikan was caught with a phone in Shotts Prison.

Martin MacMaikan and Amanda Cook were each handed at least 20 years in prison after they were convicted of murdering Motherwell man Mark Donnelly in 2013.

MacMaikan (32), formerly of Crofthead Crescent, Bellshill, is serving his sentence at Shotts Prison.

He appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court where he admitted illegal possession of a phone and charger at the jail on November 2 last year.

Sheriff David Bicket jailed MacMaikan for four months, but he won’t have to serve any extra time as the sentence took immediate effect.

The High Court heard that Mr Donnelly (27) suffered at least 114 separate injuries when MacMaikan and Cook beat him up in a car park in Coatbridge.

It was stated that MacMaikan and Mr Donnelly were best friends. The pair were with Cook when violence flared.

Passing sentence, judge Rita Rae QC told MacMaikan and Cook: “In my view the terms brutal and prolonged go nowhere near truly reflecting what happened.

“The post mortem report makes disturbing reading. There were in excess of 114 injuries, most of them recent and attributable to your joint attack during which you repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on Mark Donnelly.”

MacMaikan and Cook were also found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice by washing or disposing of their bloodstained clothing.