Lover cleared of murdering wife

8 July 2011 Last updated at 11:24 GMT Carol Jarvis's body was discovered in the family home in West Lothian A woman who lived in her lover's garden hut has been cleared of murdering his sick wife.

Rita Heyster, 57, was arrested after the body of Carol Jarvis, 47, was found under the floor of her home in Bathgate, West Lothian, in 2009.

After legal debate, Judge Lord Brailsford ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict her of murder.

A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh will now have to decide if she is is guilty of trying to cover up the death.

Mrs Jarvis's husband, Harry Jarvis, 61, is expected to give evidence next week.

The trial previously heard Ms Heyster was living in a shed in the garden of the Jarvis home for weeks.

The jury has seen love notes, said to have been written to her by Mr Jarvis, which included suggestions that they should go away to start a new life together.

The court has also heard that after his wife's disappearance prompted the Jarvis children to contact police, Mr Jarvis tried to pass off Ms Heyster as his missing wife when officers searched the house.

'Weird and creepy'

Mrs Jarvis suffered from a range of medical difficulties which sometimes resulted in her being virtually bed-ridden.

She also took medication to counter the threat of fits and had numerous tests as doctors tried to find the cause of her problems.

Doctors were unable to say how she died in spite of two post-mortem examinations.

At the start of the trial, daughter Kimberley Jarvis told how she discovered Heyster was living in their garden hut.

"It was weird and creepy," said the 20-year-old student.

Ms Heyster had denied murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice by trying to cover up the crime in September 2009.

Although she has been found not guilty of murder, it is alleged Ms Heyster failed to notify the authorities of the death, wrapped the dead body in a blanket and hid Mrs Jarvis in the basement of the house.

The 57-year-old has lodged papers in court blaming Harry Jarvis for any wrong doing.

The trial continues.

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Man jailed for murdering fiancée

28 June 2011 Last updated at 14:58 GMT A man who battered his fiancee to death two days after he was released from a six-month sentence for assaulting her has been jailed for life.

David McLeish, 46, was convicted of murdering 43-year-old Donna Black, at a flat in Clydebank, last December.

The High Court in Glasgow heard how the "vicious attack" left Ms Black with 13 rib fractures and brain damage.

Judge Lord Bracadale ordered McLeish to serve a minimum of 17 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

The court heard how McLeish had 57 previous convictions which included assault.

Ms Black, who was just 5ft 3in tall, was left with horrific injuries after McLeish, who is 6ft 4in and 18 stone, punched and kicked her. He also smashed a frying pan over her head.

The beating caused five large tears in her bowel and one in her spleen and she died from severe internal injuries to her abdomen.

'I'm being murdered'

The court was told that as McLeish battered his fiancee she managed to make a frantic 999 call to police saying: "I'm being murdered."

Minutes later police arrived at the scene and had to kick down the door.

Inside they found Ms Black dying and McLeish covered in her blood in a bedroom.

The 46-year-old said in evidence at his trial that somebody had "done something" to her during the time that he had been out of the flat.

The jury did not believe McLeish's story and took just 60 minutes to find him guilty of Ms Black's murder.

Jailing him for life, Lord Bracadale told McLeish: "This was a prolonged, sustained and vicious attack on the woman you claimed to love."

Outside court, Ms Black's mother Linda said: "Justice has been seen to be done. Now my daughter can rest in peace."

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Man convicted of murdering woman

3 June 2011 Last updated at 14:30 GMT Patrick Rae raped then murdered Mary McLaren following a night out in Dundee A man has been convicted of raping and murdering a mother-of-three in Dundee.

Patrick Rae, 41, had denied killing 34-year-old Mary McLaren following a night out at Fat Sams nightclub in the city in February 2010.

However, he was sentenced to life - with a minimum of 20 years - after a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Rae was caught after CCTV images showed him dancing with Mrs McLaren and leaving the nightclub with her on the night she disappeared.

Her body was found two weeks later on 10 March, hidden in undergrowth near the Ladywell roundabout in Dundee.

In his closing speech to the jury following the four-week trial, advocate depute David Young QC said Mrs McLaren died a violent death.

Rae killed her by repeatedly punching her on the head and striking her head and body on the ground.

He also repeatedly struck her on the neck with a knife or similar instrument, before placing a piece of fabric round her throat and strangling her.

Following Rae's conviction, Mr Young told the court the accused had 13 previous convictions including rape, attempted rape, aggravated sexual assault, assault occasioning actual body harm and false imprisonment.

'Persistently lied'

Judge Lord Tyre told Rae: "You preyed on a woman you met at a nightclub who by all accounts was already the worse for drink.

"When she left the nightclub you attached yourself to her when she was alone and the last image of her alive was at the Ladywell roundabout.

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No sentence will stop the nightmares that we all have thinking about how Mary must have suffered at the hands of this man”

End Quote Mclaren family statement "Shortly after you violently raped and strangled her leaving her body to be found days later.

"You have persistently lied and adapted your story and you have shown no remorse for what you did.

"The horror and terror Mary must have experience during this attack can only be imagined."

Rae was also put on the sex offenders register for life.

At the time of her death, Mrs McLaren - who had three children aged 18, 15, and 11 - had been looking forward to becoming a grandmother.

In a statement read out by Tayside Police family liaison officer det sgt Garry Fraser, the family said the verdict would not take away their pain or grief.

The statement added: "No sentence will stop the nightmares that we all have thinking about how Mary must have suffered at the hands of this man.

"We miss Mary. We always will. She was at the heart of this family when she was with us and remains there now.

Mary McLaren went missing after a night out at a Dundee nightclub

"She loved us. We love her still and cannot believe that she is no longer with us."

The family thanked the jury in the case and said they had been overwhelmed by messages of support from the people of Dundee.

They added: "Patrick Rae has robbed us of a much-loved and loving daughter, wife and mother.

"He also denied Mary the chance of holding the grandchild that she was so looking forward to welcoming into the world."

Following the verdict, Catriona Dalrymple, district procurator fiscal for Dundee, said "Patrick Rae today stands convicted of two of the worst crimes prosecutors can encounter.

"He committed a horrific attack against a defenceless woman, and in doing so took the life of a young wife and mother."

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Man acquitted of murdering baby

24 May 2011 Last updated at 15:58 GMT Mark Bruton-Young "could not face up to life as a father", the court heard A Gloucester man who said he was suffering from post-natal depression has been found not guilty of murdering of his baby daughter.

Architect Mark Bruton-Young, 36, from Quedgley, was accused of killing six-month-old Harriet by smothering her between 25 June and 28 June last year.

Bristol Crown Court heard during the trial that Mr Bruton-Young "could not face up to life as a father".

Mr Bruton-Young had denied a charge of murder.

His trial heard how Harriet was found dead in her cot at the end of June 2009.

It was alleged that Mr Bruton-Young had started scouring the internet in January that year looking for ways of getting rid of the baby.

The prosecution said that information gathered from Mr Bruton-Young's work computer showed that he initially searched for advice on bonding, depression and fatherhood.

In the weeks leading up to his daughter's death Mr Bruton-Young was alleged to have begun to search for terms such as "signs of deliberate suffocation" and "how quickly can a baby suffocate?".

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Police said after the verdict: "The police treat all sudden and unexpected deaths in infants very seriously and work closely with other agencies and key professionals in order to thoroughly investigate each case.

"The evidence that was gathered in this case was carefully examined and referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, who subsequently decided that Mark Bruton-Young should be charged and the evidence brought in front of a jury."

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