Hazell, Meldrum

Born at Glenrothes, Fife; deaf at 4 from jaundice. Went to a "partially hearing unit" in a regular public school. After his mother's early death, had a stormy relationship with his father and eventually developed a drinking problem, which contributed to his constant unemployment. In 1994, he made an offer of a meal to an also-unemployed deaf drinking buddy, John Sutherland (q.v.). What happened after that was never clarified by Hazell, but a trial found him guilty of stabbing Sutherland and pushing him out a 14th-floor apartment window. Although Hazell claimed that Sutherland had attempted a homosexual pass at him, he also claimed "I don't know" when questioned about his motives for the killing. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.