David McDermott and James “Jazza” Cunningham killed the man at Gilliespie’s bar.
David McDermott has died in jail. (Image: Daily Record)
A bodybuilder who murdered a man after bursting into a pub in Dunbartonshire has died in jail.
David McDermott, 57, passed away at HMP Low Moss on January 1, but there is no information on the circumstances surrounding the death at this stage.
The killer and co-accused James “Jazza” Cunningham, 65, attacked Andrew Miller, 30, in Gillespie’s bar in Bonhill on August 17, 1997
The pair fractured Mr Miller’s skull with a machete in front of stunned onlookers inside the pub, before they shot at and fatally stabbed the victim through the heart.
Mr Miller was left for dead on the floor, and McDermott held a handgun in the air and threatened witnesses in the bar if they gave information to the police.
The High Court in Glasgow heard how Mr Miller had been involved in a fight with McDermott’s dad on the day of his death.
McDermott was found guilty of murdering Mr Miller in February of 1998 and sentenced to life in jail.
He was released from prison in 2010 but was arrested on board a ferry at Holyhead port in Wales in December of 2022, having been found to be “unlawfully at large”.
The murderer was returned to prison in November of 2023 after being convicted of breaching special licensing conditions.
A Scottish Prison Services spokesperson said: “David McDermott, 57, of HMP Low Moss, has died on 01 January 2026..”
