A man who murdered his partner with a claw hammer while banned from approaching her has been jailed for a minimum of 22 years.
Attack and Discovery
Joseph Greer attacked mother-of-three Samantha Lee at a property in Aberdeen between January 1 and 4 this year. The High Court in Dundee heard Ms Lee suffered “catastrophic” head injuries from which she died. Her body was found in the kitchen of the property in Bedford Road on January 4 after an acquaintance alerted police.
Guilty Plea and Sentencing
Greer, 40, pleaded guilty to murdering Ms Lee and to a separate charge of assaulting her to severe injury last October on a street in Aberdeen at a previous hearing. Lord Renucci sentenced Greer to life imprisonment with a minimum of 22 years when the case called at the High Court in Dundee on Friday.
Lord Renucci said: “Notwithstanding the fact that you have accepted responsibility for her murder, you claim to have no recollection of it. As a result, it has been left to the forensic scientists and the pathologists to put the pieces together and provide us with some idea of the extent of your actions.”
Details of the Murder
He added: “What the forensic biology and forensic pathology evidence can tell us is that at some point between January 1 2026, when Ms Lee was last seen alive, and the discovery of her body on January 4 2026, you took hold of her and repeatedly struck her on the head and body with a claw hammer or similar type implement whereby she fell to the floor and, as in the previous assault in charge one, that assault continued whilst she was lying defenceless on the ground, this time leaving her with catastrophic head injuries from which she died.”
He further stated: “In inflicting those injuries, you deprived three adult children of their much-loved mother.”
Bail Conditions and Previous Assault
At the time of the murder, Greer was banned from approaching or contacting Ms Lee, 54, after being granted bail with special conditions following the assault in October last year. Lord Renucci commented: “Domestic abuse is a scourge on our society, and it is difficult to imagine a worse example than that exhibited by you towards Ms Lee.”
Ms Lee, originally from Coventry, had last been heard from on January 1. The court previously heard that on January 4, an acquaintance went to the property where Greer said “I have something to tell you”, and then said: “Samantha is dead. She is in the kitchen.”
Previous Assault and Sentence
The assault to severe injury last October saw Greer repeatedly strike Ms Lee with a telephone handset in the street. Lord Renucci described it as a “prolonged, sustained and vicious attack”. He sentenced Greer to five years behind bars for the assault, to be served concurrently with the murder sentence.
Defence and Family Reaction
Tony Lenehan KC, representing Greer, said the 40-year-old had a toxic relationship with alcohol and suffered low mood and felt he was losing control of his life. He said: “Exactly why he killed her, this rare positive in his life, he cannot articulate. The whole vat of his unhappiness ruptured in that assault on Ms Lee.”
Ms Lee’s family previously said: “No verdict can ever bring her back or erase the pain, grief, and loss our family has experienced. Our mum was a loving, caring, and valued person whose life was taken from us far too soon. Her absence is felt every day, and the impact of this crime has changed our family forever.”
Prosecutor's Statement
Laura Buchan, legal director at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “Joseph Greer carried out a brutal and sustained attack on Samantha Lee before failing to raise the alarm. This is a tragic case where domestic abuse escalated to murder. Samantha was a much-loved mother, sister, auntie and nanny. Her family have lost someone who meant so much to them, and they have been deprived of years of precious memories together. Samantha’s death is a stark reminder of the devastating impact violence against women and girls can have. Scotland’s prosecutors will continue to use every legal tool available to hold those responsible for domestic abuse to account.”
