Man stabbed his dad in jail in revenge attack after he abused his mum

A father who had never seen his son before was stabbed by him the first time they met while serving sentences in the same prison.

Lee Spence, 25, assaulted his dad John with a knife inside HMP Perth, in Scotland, on July 12, 2025, according to The Sun.

John was struck on the head and neck in the attack.

He urgently needed treatment at Ninewells Hospital, in Dundee, following the attack.

Lee, of Leslie, Fife, pleaded guilty to attempted murder on Friday (November 14).

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that the father had no clue Lee was his son from a previous relationship.

They had never met before but were serving time on the same wing of HMP Perth.

Fraser Matheson, prosecuting, told judge Lord Renucci on Friday that Lee knew who John was – and he wanted to avenge his mother for alleged domestic abuse.

‘The accused told prison officers that he had slashed the complainer as he had assaulted his mother when he was a baby,’ said Mr Matheson.

When the judge asked him whether John knew he was Lee’s father, Mr Matheson replied: ‘He was aware he had a son but he did not know who that son was.’

Moments before he was attacked by his son, John was looking a cup, the court heard. He went into Lee’s cell where he was stabbed.

The defendant told prison officers he then flushed the weapon down the toilet.

Gordon Martin KC, defending, said Lee’s mum told him of alleged domestic abuse by John, which motivated him to carry out the attack.

The court also heard that Lee had several previous convictions.

In September 2022 he was given three years and eight months for throttling a woman until she blacked out before laughing at her.

Lee hit her on the head with a vacuum cleaner pole and restricted her breathing until she passed out.

He smashed a glass against a door and stabbed her on the leg with shards from the broken object.

The prosecutor said the woman later complained of a sore head, when he replied ‘that’s where I hit you with the hoover’ and started laughing at her.

He was originally charged with attempted murder but earlier admitted a reduced charge of assaulting the woman to her injury and danger of her life in an attack on her on March 2 and 3 this year at Kirk Drive, Leslie.

Lord Renucci deferred Lee’s sentencing for the assault against his father for the court to obtain reports into his background. 

He will be sentenced on January 9 2026.

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