MARK McLAUGHLIN
Evening News (Edinburgh)
September 15, 2010, Wednesday
A VULNERABLE pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage after she was hit over the head with a bottle and beaten as she tried to buy drugs for a friend in a Capital underpass.
Emma Flint, 27, suffered head injuries, cuts, bruising to her abdomen and bleeding during the assault, despite begging her attackers to stop because she was pregnant.
Last week her attacker, heroin addict Natalie Paterson, 40, was jailed for 14 months for the attack but both Ms Flint and her family believe she should have been given a far harsher sentence.
Miss Flint, of Craigentinny, said: "She ended a life that day and should have been given 10 years."
She said she had gone to the underpass in Murrayburn Drive in Wester Hailes to "buy some smoke" for a friend from the group.
She said: "When I arrived a gang of them set about me. Natalie hit me over the head with a bottle and I fell, then they all started laying into me.
"I kept saying to them 'stop, stop, I'm pregnant' but apparently that didn't matter to them.
"They stole everything from me, my mobile, money, keys and fags, and ran away. As she was running, Natalie turned around and said, 'if I see you round here again you'll end up in a box'.
"Somehow I managed to get up and make it to the main road. I nearly got hit by a cab because I was staggering around, and someone phoned the emergency services.
"I was in hospital for a few hours. Three days later I discovered I had miscarried. The attack has ruined my life and yet Natalie Paterson will probably be free in seven months. I know it's a cliche, but the law is an ass."
In a letter to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, Miss Flint's doctor Ewen Stewart, of Rose Garden Medical Centre, confirmed that she was pregnant at the time of the assault.
He said: "I can confirm that on 11 August 2008 we received a fax from the Pregnancy Support Centre at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh confirming that she had a complete miscarriage. This does appear to have been following the incident."
Paterson sobbed as she was jailed last Wednesday, having previously admitted to assault and robbery at the Murrayburn Drive underpass on 7 August 2008.
Two other people were charged in connection with the assault but their not-guilty pleas were accepted. Paterson was also sentenced to a further two months for a separate assault on a child in 2009.
Defence lawyer Paul Dunn told the court that Paterson had been the victim of a serious crime herself in 2005 and had spiralled into a series of crimes, but that she was taking steps to get off the drink and drugs she turned to after being the victim of a crime.
Sheriff Noble said: "You did participate in an assault and robbery on a woman with learning difficulties. It can only be dealt with by way of custody."
Showing posts with label Annals of Crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Annals of Crime. Show all posts
Sunday, 10 October 2010
NEWS: Police Investigate The BNP Over "Bizarre" Website
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Evening News (Edinburgh)
September 6, 2010, Monday
CITY rocker Edwyn Collins demanded that the BNP remove his song from a "bizarre" party website that is being investigated by police.
The Edinburgh-born star's hit A Girl Like You featured on a Lothians British National Party website behind images of Asian men burning a union flag and veiled women waving banners saying "God Bless Hitler".
The "Lothians BNP Video" site has now been taken off-line and its creator, BNP Central Scotland organiser Mike Coyle, has resigned from the party.
Police are investigating whether any action can be taken against the site. Edwyn Collins' wife and manager, Grace Maxwell, warned the BNP against using copyrighted material on their websites.
Ms Maxwell said: "There are many iffy videos on YouTube using A Girl Like You without permission and we are normally very relaxed about it.
"Whilst we don't believe that viewers would imagine for a moment that Edwyn has sanctioned the use of his track in this bizarre setting, for the removal of any doubt, we will require it to be deleted and will take the necessary steps to ensure that this happens."
The site, which was accessed via a link on the BNP Scotland website, also featured Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World with a montage calling the founder of Islam a "murderer" and "a paedophile", and several original songs by a Whitburn-based heavy metal band called Mott & Bailey.
The tracks railed against "invaders marching through our land, coming in like the night" and "darkness bringing down the walls". Videos accompanying the tracks featured images of 9/11, the London bombings and processions of coffins being carried through Wootton Bassett intermixed with images of British mosques and protesting Muslims.
Mr Coyle initially defended the site, stating that he saw nothing criminal in its content and claiming that "the BNP are not in the business of upsetting people". However, within hours of being contacted by the News, copyrighted content had been removed and the site had been re-branded "The Unofficial BNP Video Site". Mr Coyle then resigned.
The father-of-four said: "My last act as a BNP member was to dismantle this site. I put my head above the parapet and ended up being lied to. I set up this website with the full approval of the Scottish party, but now that my name stands to be dragged through the newspapers they have failed to show me any support.
"When I stood as a candidate in the last election my children were subjected to death threats, but I stood firm. They have lied to me for the last time."
The BNP Scotland website carries contact details for party members, party news and a page of material written by BNP Scotland leader Gary Raikes. But Mr Raikes described it as "an unofficial blog". A line has been added to the site stating, "This is an unofficial BNP site".
He said Mr Coyle's site was set up with his support but was not officially sanctioned by the party.
He said: "We are sorry to lose Mr Coyle over this. Many sites support the BNP and we are glad for that support but cannot be held responsible for content. This would appear to be yet another witch hunt by the left-wing press."
BNP national leader Nick Griffin declined to comment.
Muslim activist Osama Saeed, founder of the Scottish-Islamic Foundation, said: "The videos show the BNP are stuck in a time warp, laden with images from the Crusades. The far-right always try to isolate and stigmatise particular groups and the latest is Muslims."
A police spokesman said: "Inquiries will be made in order to establish whether any further action can be taken."
Evening News (Edinburgh)
September 6, 2010, Monday
CITY rocker Edwyn Collins demanded that the BNP remove his song from a "bizarre" party website that is being investigated by police.
The Edinburgh-born star's hit A Girl Like You featured on a Lothians British National Party website behind images of Asian men burning a union flag and veiled women waving banners saying "God Bless Hitler".
The "Lothians BNP Video" site has now been taken off-line and its creator, BNP Central Scotland organiser Mike Coyle, has resigned from the party.
Police are investigating whether any action can be taken against the site. Edwyn Collins' wife and manager, Grace Maxwell, warned the BNP against using copyrighted material on their websites.
Ms Maxwell said: "There are many iffy videos on YouTube using A Girl Like You without permission and we are normally very relaxed about it.
"Whilst we don't believe that viewers would imagine for a moment that Edwyn has sanctioned the use of his track in this bizarre setting, for the removal of any doubt, we will require it to be deleted and will take the necessary steps to ensure that this happens."
The site, which was accessed via a link on the BNP Scotland website, also featured Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World with a montage calling the founder of Islam a "murderer" and "a paedophile", and several original songs by a Whitburn-based heavy metal band called Mott & Bailey.
The tracks railed against "invaders marching through our land, coming in like the night" and "darkness bringing down the walls". Videos accompanying the tracks featured images of 9/11, the London bombings and processions of coffins being carried through Wootton Bassett intermixed with images of British mosques and protesting Muslims.
Mr Coyle initially defended the site, stating that he saw nothing criminal in its content and claiming that "the BNP are not in the business of upsetting people". However, within hours of being contacted by the News, copyrighted content had been removed and the site had been re-branded "The Unofficial BNP Video Site". Mr Coyle then resigned.
The father-of-four said: "My last act as a BNP member was to dismantle this site. I put my head above the parapet and ended up being lied to. I set up this website with the full approval of the Scottish party, but now that my name stands to be dragged through the newspapers they have failed to show me any support.
"When I stood as a candidate in the last election my children were subjected to death threats, but I stood firm. They have lied to me for the last time."
The BNP Scotland website carries contact details for party members, party news and a page of material written by BNP Scotland leader Gary Raikes. But Mr Raikes described it as "an unofficial blog". A line has been added to the site stating, "This is an unofficial BNP site".
He said Mr Coyle's site was set up with his support but was not officially sanctioned by the party.
He said: "We are sorry to lose Mr Coyle over this. Many sites support the BNP and we are glad for that support but cannot be held responsible for content. This would appear to be yet another witch hunt by the left-wing press."
BNP national leader Nick Griffin declined to comment.
Muslim activist Osama Saeed, founder of the Scottish-Islamic Foundation, said: "The videos show the BNP are stuck in a time warp, laden with images from the Crusades. The far-right always try to isolate and stigmatise particular groups and the latest is Muslims."
A police spokesman said: "Inquiries will be made in order to establish whether any further action can be taken."
NEWS: Terrorised By Racist Thugs
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Evening News (Edinburgh)
August 11, 2010, Wednesday
A FAMILY told today how they are living in fear of a gang of young racist thugs who have been laying siege to their home for months.
Abdur Rahim, 32, and his heavily-pregnant wife Nazama, who are originally from Bangladesh, have suffered a campaign of vandalism and harassment since the beginning of the year.
The gang throws stones, smashes windows and vandalises taxi driver Mr Rahim's car outside his Broomhouse home. In one of the latest incidents at the weekend, a stone crashed right through the window, leaving a golf ball-sized hole.
Police today confirmed they were treating the attacks as racially motivated and appealed for information as Mr Rahim said he was at a loss to explain why he was being targeted.
The couple, who have a seven-year-old daughter, have lived in Broomhouse Loan for ten years, but the problems only started in January when the gang of around five teenagers began to attack.
Mr Rahim said: "We've never done anything against them but they have suddenly taken exception to us being here, so I can only assume they have a problem with the fact that we're ethnic Asians.
"My family is originally from Bangladesh but my daughter is Scottish and my new baby will be Scottish as well.
"My neighbour is also Bangladeshi and he's had the same problems that I've had. We're the only two houses on the street that are being targeted by this gang so our ethnic origin is the only explanation for it.
"We just don't know what to do. There's a big hole in our window but when we replace it, it will only get smashed again."
Mr Rahim's car is also covered in chips, dents and scratches left by the vandals.
Mrs Rahim, 31, a John Lewis assistant, is expecting the couple's second child later this month and fears for the safety of their family. She said: "They've smashed our windows and scratched our car, and who knows what they could do next.
"I've recently been diagnosed with diabetes and, coupled with the pregnancy, I'm already under a lot of strain, but the added stress has made me fear for the safety of my unborn child.
"The atmosphere in the house over the last eight months has been terrible."
A police spokesman said they were following a "positive line of inquiry" over the attacks.
He said: "We are currently working with our partner agencies to address this issue.
"Anyone with information that can assist us with our inquiries is asked to contact police immediately.
"Lothian and Borders Police will not tolerate racially- motivated crime."
Local councillor Eric Milligan, who sits on the police board, said he would be speaking to the chief constable to ensure that those responsible were prosecuted "to the full extent of the law".
He said: "Having been a member of the police board for many years now, I have been continuously impressed with how robustly the police deal with incidents such as this.
"We have made a lot of progress in community relations in recent years and reports of this kind have become increasingly rare.
"However, we cannot let this progress be spoiled by a few individuals, or allow their actions to besmirch the good name of Broomhouse."
Evening News (Edinburgh)
August 11, 2010, Wednesday
A FAMILY told today how they are living in fear of a gang of young racist thugs who have been laying siege to their home for months.
Abdur Rahim, 32, and his heavily-pregnant wife Nazama, who are originally from Bangladesh, have suffered a campaign of vandalism and harassment since the beginning of the year.
The gang throws stones, smashes windows and vandalises taxi driver Mr Rahim's car outside his Broomhouse home. In one of the latest incidents at the weekend, a stone crashed right through the window, leaving a golf ball-sized hole.
Police today confirmed they were treating the attacks as racially motivated and appealed for information as Mr Rahim said he was at a loss to explain why he was being targeted.
The couple, who have a seven-year-old daughter, have lived in Broomhouse Loan for ten years, but the problems only started in January when the gang of around five teenagers began to attack.
Mr Rahim said: "We've never done anything against them but they have suddenly taken exception to us being here, so I can only assume they have a problem with the fact that we're ethnic Asians.
"My family is originally from Bangladesh but my daughter is Scottish and my new baby will be Scottish as well.
"My neighbour is also Bangladeshi and he's had the same problems that I've had. We're the only two houses on the street that are being targeted by this gang so our ethnic origin is the only explanation for it.
"We just don't know what to do. There's a big hole in our window but when we replace it, it will only get smashed again."
Mr Rahim's car is also covered in chips, dents and scratches left by the vandals.
Mrs Rahim, 31, a John Lewis assistant, is expecting the couple's second child later this month and fears for the safety of their family. She said: "They've smashed our windows and scratched our car, and who knows what they could do next.
"I've recently been diagnosed with diabetes and, coupled with the pregnancy, I'm already under a lot of strain, but the added stress has made me fear for the safety of my unborn child.
"The atmosphere in the house over the last eight months has been terrible."
A police spokesman said they were following a "positive line of inquiry" over the attacks.
He said: "We are currently working with our partner agencies to address this issue.
"Anyone with information that can assist us with our inquiries is asked to contact police immediately.
"Lothian and Borders Police will not tolerate racially- motivated crime."
Local councillor Eric Milligan, who sits on the police board, said he would be speaking to the chief constable to ensure that those responsible were prosecuted "to the full extent of the law".
He said: "Having been a member of the police board for many years now, I have been continuously impressed with how robustly the police deal with incidents such as this.
"We have made a lot of progress in community relations in recent years and reports of this kind have become increasingly rare.
"However, we cannot let this progress be spoiled by a few individuals, or allow their actions to besmirch the good name of Broomhouse."
NEWS: No love lost over puppy
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Evening News (Edinburgh)
August 10, 2010, Tuesday
A MURDER investigation is under way in Wester Hailes after a man was stabbed to death following a reported row over a puppy.
The victim, named locally as 34-year-old Martin Hughes, was seen staggering out of a flat in Wester Hailes Park yesterday afternoon with a stab wound.
Emergency services found Mr Hughes lying in the street and he was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he later died.
Neighbours claimed Mr Hughes had been involved in a dispute with his attacker, who is currently being hunted by police, in the days leading up to his death.
One local, who did not wish to be named, said: "He recently bought a rottweiler puppy but it was sick and it died shortly after he bought it.
"The word is that Martin didn't want to pay for the puppy, so the guy came round and stabbed him."
Sharon Sutherland, 34, said: "A friend of mine said she saw him staggering out of one of the flats and she thought he was drunk, and then he just collapsed.
"He loved his dogs and he was quite upset when the puppy died.
"There's a lot of violence in the area though."
Neighbours said Mr Hughes hadn't lived in the area long, but had become a popular member of the community.
Jimmy John, 21, a labourer, said: "He was popular with all of the kids because he used to look out for them and enjoyed getting a wee kick about with them in the street.
"If any of the kids had a fall he was always the first one to make sure they were okay.
Other neighbours have claimed the stabbing may have been drugs related.
Ricky Henderson, councillor for the Pentland Hills ward which covers the area where the stabbing took place said: "It is tragic when something like this happens.
"Wester Hailes Park has a good close-knit community and I hope that the police can get to the root of this very quickly."
A police spokesman confirmed they had launched a murder investigation.
Evening News (Edinburgh)
August 10, 2010, Tuesday
A MURDER investigation is under way in Wester Hailes after a man was stabbed to death following a reported row over a puppy.
The victim, named locally as 34-year-old Martin Hughes, was seen staggering out of a flat in Wester Hailes Park yesterday afternoon with a stab wound.
Emergency services found Mr Hughes lying in the street and he was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he later died.
Neighbours claimed Mr Hughes had been involved in a dispute with his attacker, who is currently being hunted by police, in the days leading up to his death.
One local, who did not wish to be named, said: "He recently bought a rottweiler puppy but it was sick and it died shortly after he bought it.
"The word is that Martin didn't want to pay for the puppy, so the guy came round and stabbed him."
Sharon Sutherland, 34, said: "A friend of mine said she saw him staggering out of one of the flats and she thought he was drunk, and then he just collapsed.
"He loved his dogs and he was quite upset when the puppy died.
"There's a lot of violence in the area though."
Neighbours said Mr Hughes hadn't lived in the area long, but had become a popular member of the community.
Jimmy John, 21, a labourer, said: "He was popular with all of the kids because he used to look out for them and enjoyed getting a wee kick about with them in the street.
"If any of the kids had a fall he was always the first one to make sure they were okay.
Other neighbours have claimed the stabbing may have been drugs related.
Ricky Henderson, councillor for the Pentland Hills ward which covers the area where the stabbing took place said: "It is tragic when something like this happens.
"Wester Hailes Park has a good close-knit community and I hope that the police can get to the root of this very quickly."
A police spokesman confirmed they had launched a murder investigation.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
NEWS: Rubber Bullet And Taser Treatment
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Evening News (Edinburgh)
July 22, 2010, Thursday
A CRAZED knifeman who held a nurse hostage in her own home had to be brought down with a rubber bullet after a Taser failed to subdue him.
The Evening News told earlier this week how the controversial weapon was used on Rafal Swiderski after he had held 51-year-old nurse Mary Johnston at knifepoint for more than four hours.
It has now emerged that it failed to hit the target and officers were given permission to use the baton round before deploying the Taser again.
The case is only second time either weapon has been used by Lothian and Borders Police, and is the first time they have been deployed together.
Officers today defended the move as they told how 20-year-old Swiderski had turned his aggression towards firearms officers during the incident, threatening them with a knife and a broken bottle.
Chief Superintendent Charlie Common, head of operations for Lothian and Borders Police, said the decision to fire a Taser came after several hours of negotiations failed and Swiderski began charging at them with the knife.
The weapon failed when only one of the electrical barbs struck Swiderski. Both barbs needed to connect in order to complete the circuit and send a 50,000-volt charge through the knifeman's body.
Swiderski retreated into Ms Johnston's Broxburn home and re-emerged with a broken bottle and began charging at officers again.
Chief Supt Common said: "A baton round was discharged, which temporarily stunned the suspect, however, he picked up the broken glass again and as he did so a Taser was discharged at him. As a result, he was subdued and arrested.
"In view of the circumstances faced, the use of both Taser and baton round were considered to have been entirely appropriate."
The use of Tasers hit the headlines again following the shooting of Raoul Moat which has raised fresh controversy about their use.
Amnesty International, which is calling for a pilot project in Strathclyde where 30 ordinary officers have been issued with Tasers to be abandoned, said it supported the force.
John Watson, the organisation's programme director for Scotland, said: "Our position on Tasers is that we accept that they have a part to play in policing, particularly in incidents like this one where they were dealing with a violent individual posing a risk to life.
"We have no complaints about the use of Taser in this case because they were being used by trained firearms officers. Tasers are firearms and they should only be used by trained firearms officers.
"However, we have serious concerns about the scheme in Strathclyde which has lowered the threshold over what incidents they can be used for."
Ms Johnston, whose ordeal on May 22 this year began when she awoke to find Swiderski in her home, has also backed the officers who brought her attacker into custody. She had been barricaded inside until she managed to secretly text a plea for police help.
Swiderski was remanded in custody pending background reports after pleading guilty last week.
CONTROVERSIAL WEAPONS
The last time a baton round was used before the Swiderski case was in West Linton, on December 13, 2005, after a man fired an airgun at officers as they surrounded his home. It was the first time the weapon had been used since the force began trialling its in 2003.
Two years later, on May 10 2007, police used a Taser, introduced the previous year, for the first time to stop a man who rampaged through Bar 53, in Broxburn's East Main Street, armed with two machetes.
Human rights group Amnesty International is mounting a legal challenge to a pilot scheme in Strathclyde to arm 30 regular beat officers with Tasers, as opposed to authorised firearms officers, amid links to almost 300 deaths in North America.
Evening News (Edinburgh)
July 22, 2010, Thursday
A CRAZED knifeman who held a nurse hostage in her own home had to be brought down with a rubber bullet after a Taser failed to subdue him.
The Evening News told earlier this week how the controversial weapon was used on Rafal Swiderski after he had held 51-year-old nurse Mary Johnston at knifepoint for more than four hours.
It has now emerged that it failed to hit the target and officers were given permission to use the baton round before deploying the Taser again.
The case is only second time either weapon has been used by Lothian and Borders Police, and is the first time they have been deployed together.
Officers today defended the move as they told how 20-year-old Swiderski had turned his aggression towards firearms officers during the incident, threatening them with a knife and a broken bottle.
Chief Superintendent Charlie Common, head of operations for Lothian and Borders Police, said the decision to fire a Taser came after several hours of negotiations failed and Swiderski began charging at them with the knife.
The weapon failed when only one of the electrical barbs struck Swiderski. Both barbs needed to connect in order to complete the circuit and send a 50,000-volt charge through the knifeman's body.
Swiderski retreated into Ms Johnston's Broxburn home and re-emerged with a broken bottle and began charging at officers again.
Chief Supt Common said: "A baton round was discharged, which temporarily stunned the suspect, however, he picked up the broken glass again and as he did so a Taser was discharged at him. As a result, he was subdued and arrested.
"In view of the circumstances faced, the use of both Taser and baton round were considered to have been entirely appropriate."
The use of Tasers hit the headlines again following the shooting of Raoul Moat which has raised fresh controversy about their use.
Amnesty International, which is calling for a pilot project in Strathclyde where 30 ordinary officers have been issued with Tasers to be abandoned, said it supported the force.
John Watson, the organisation's programme director for Scotland, said: "Our position on Tasers is that we accept that they have a part to play in policing, particularly in incidents like this one where they were dealing with a violent individual posing a risk to life.
"We have no complaints about the use of Taser in this case because they were being used by trained firearms officers. Tasers are firearms and they should only be used by trained firearms officers.
"However, we have serious concerns about the scheme in Strathclyde which has lowered the threshold over what incidents they can be used for."
Ms Johnston, whose ordeal on May 22 this year began when she awoke to find Swiderski in her home, has also backed the officers who brought her attacker into custody. She had been barricaded inside until she managed to secretly text a plea for police help.
Swiderski was remanded in custody pending background reports after pleading guilty last week.
CONTROVERSIAL WEAPONS
The last time a baton round was used before the Swiderski case was in West Linton, on December 13, 2005, after a man fired an airgun at officers as they surrounded his home. It was the first time the weapon had been used since the force began trialling its in 2003.
Two years later, on May 10 2007, police used a Taser, introduced the previous year, for the first time to stop a man who rampaged through Bar 53, in Broxburn's East Main Street, armed with two machetes.
Human rights group Amnesty International is mounting a legal challenge to a pilot scheme in Strathclyde to arm 30 regular beat officers with Tasers, as opposed to authorised firearms officers, amid links to almost 300 deaths in North America.
NEWS: Hostage Horror Ends With A Taser
Mark McLaughlin
Evening News (Edinburgh)
Nurse tells of hostage terror
A NURSE was held hostage in her bedroom for four hours after waking to find a disturbed knife man in her room.
Mary Johnston, 51, was barricaded inside with Rafal Swiderski until she managed to secretly text a plea for police help.
Swiderski, 20, piled furniture against the bedroom door and pulled out his knife after Ms Johnston spotted him.
He then brandished the knife at her and threatened to stab himself, as well as banging and shouting, and pointing frantically at the empty street.
The Edinburgh Royal Infirmary staff nurse, of East Main Street, Broxburn, eventually managed to slip out after police arrived and started trying to convince him to let her go.
Swiderski was eventually arrested after being shot and immobilised by a taser stun gun.
Ms Johnston said: "I had been on the night shift and I was woken about 11.45am by someone coming into the house. The next thing I knew this strange man had walked into my bedroom.
"He kept saying, 'Shhh, please'. He clearly thought someone was after him.
"He went into the kitchen and I heard him raking around and when he came back he pushed my bed and my treadmill against the door, and when he turned around I saw that he had a knife in the back of his trousers.
"He pulled the knife out and didn't let go of it, and a few times he said he was going to stab himself with it.
"Then he told me to lift up the blinds so he could see out, and started pointing at nothing and shouting 'look, look'.
"I tried to calm him down by telling him that no-one was there, but whenever I let go of the blinds he held the knife to me and told me to lift them up."
Ms Johnston was able to grab her phone without Swiderski noticing, and discreetly text, "HELP. PHONE POLICE", to her last number.
She added: "I could hear the police arrive outside. This just made him more agitated and he began jumping on the bed, on the chest of drawers and throwing ornaments around.
"The police were saying, 'Rafal, Rafal, let the lady go. You don't need her.'
"I managed to push the bed away from the door until it was just wide enough to squeeze through. When I saw my chance, I ran for it. He saw me and ran after me, but I made it out the front door and managed to pull it shut behind me."
The case follows the shooting of Raoul Moat with a shotgun-style taser, which has raised fresh controversy about the use of the stun guns.
But Ms Johnston is adamant that the police did the right thing.
She said: "If the police hadn't tasered him, who knows what he would have done."
Last Thursday, Swiderski pled guilty to entering Ms Johnston's house without invitation, barricading her inside and brandishing a knife on May 22 this year.
He was remanded in custody pending background reports. Sentencing is due on August 5.
A police spokesman said: "Lothian and Borders Police issue tasers to authorised firearms officers, who are only permitted to use the device in circumstances where a suspect presents a clear risk to the public, the officers in attendance or even themselves.
"Before a taser is discharged, the suspect will be given clear warning to cease their actions and surrender."
Evening News (Edinburgh)
Nurse tells of hostage terror
A NURSE was held hostage in her bedroom for four hours after waking to find a disturbed knife man in her room.
Mary Johnston, 51, was barricaded inside with Rafal Swiderski until she managed to secretly text a plea for police help.
Swiderski, 20, piled furniture against the bedroom door and pulled out his knife after Ms Johnston spotted him.
He then brandished the knife at her and threatened to stab himself, as well as banging and shouting, and pointing frantically at the empty street.
The Edinburgh Royal Infirmary staff nurse, of East Main Street, Broxburn, eventually managed to slip out after police arrived and started trying to convince him to let her go.
Swiderski was eventually arrested after being shot and immobilised by a taser stun gun.
Ms Johnston said: "I had been on the night shift and I was woken about 11.45am by someone coming into the house. The next thing I knew this strange man had walked into my bedroom.
"He kept saying, 'Shhh, please'. He clearly thought someone was after him.
"He went into the kitchen and I heard him raking around and when he came back he pushed my bed and my treadmill against the door, and when he turned around I saw that he had a knife in the back of his trousers.
"He pulled the knife out and didn't let go of it, and a few times he said he was going to stab himself with it.
"Then he told me to lift up the blinds so he could see out, and started pointing at nothing and shouting 'look, look'.
"I tried to calm him down by telling him that no-one was there, but whenever I let go of the blinds he held the knife to me and told me to lift them up."
Ms Johnston was able to grab her phone without Swiderski noticing, and discreetly text, "HELP. PHONE POLICE", to her last number.
She added: "I could hear the police arrive outside. This just made him more agitated and he began jumping on the bed, on the chest of drawers and throwing ornaments around.
"The police were saying, 'Rafal, Rafal, let the lady go. You don't need her.'
"I managed to push the bed away from the door until it was just wide enough to squeeze through. When I saw my chance, I ran for it. He saw me and ran after me, but I made it out the front door and managed to pull it shut behind me."
The case follows the shooting of Raoul Moat with a shotgun-style taser, which has raised fresh controversy about the use of the stun guns.
But Ms Johnston is adamant that the police did the right thing.
She said: "If the police hadn't tasered him, who knows what he would have done."
Last Thursday, Swiderski pled guilty to entering Ms Johnston's house without invitation, barricading her inside and brandishing a knife on May 22 this year.
He was remanded in custody pending background reports. Sentencing is due on August 5.
A police spokesman said: "Lothian and Borders Police issue tasers to authorised firearms officers, who are only permitted to use the device in circumstances where a suspect presents a clear risk to the public, the officers in attendance or even themselves.
"Before a taser is discharged, the suspect will be given clear warning to cease their actions and surrender."
NEWS: Chinese Twitters
Evening News (Edinburgh)
July 5, 2010, Monday
MARK McLAUGHLIN
POLICE have moved to reassure parents that there are not child snatchers lurking in their area after an internet rumour spread like wildfire.
Panicked parents in Midlothian have fuelled the flames by posting updates on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
It follows an alleged incident in the Homebase car park in Straiton Retail Park, where a woman was reported to be acting suspiciously towards an eight-year-old boy. The youngster's mother later spoke of her fear that she had been trying to entice him into her car.
Police investigated but said they found "no information that can lead to us conclude that an attempt to abduct a child took place".
However, since then there have been several unsubstantiated "sightings" of the same yellow car lurking outside Gorebridge and Bonnyrigg primary schools, Cuicken Primary in Penicuik and Lasswade High.
Facebook and Twitter chat has been buzzing with the rumours, and the Evening News has received several e-mails calling for an investigation. Some even claim that the supposed child snatchers have actually been successful in abducting children.
One man e-mailed to say he heard about the "abductions" from a neighbour who works at Gorebridge Primary.
He said: "Over the past week or so there have been a number of child abductions in the Midlothian area.
"One at Straiton Retail Park, and at primary schools in Gorebridge and Penicuik. Parents are very concerned.
"A young foreign-looking couple are doing the attempted snatches, using a yellow car.
"Only coverage of this is really via Facebook. I think there needs to be more news coverage to alert parents. Everyone is scared and keeping their kids in the house. A lot of people are worried."
Scott Birse, from Buckstone, also claimed schools were being advised to be vigilant following the incident in Straiton.
He said: "There have been two further incidents, I believe in Gorebridge and Penicuik, possibly involving the same couple in a yellow car.
"There seem to be rumours of a further two incidents. This seems quite a big issue. I would like to hear that the police are on the case."
A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman confirmed that their officers responded to an incident on 23 June in the car park of Homebase at Straiton, where a woman was reported to be acting suspiciously.
However, he said they had received no calls about any more sightings, and dismissed the further claims as hearsay.
The spokesman added: "A full investigation has been carried out in respect of [the 23 June] incident, and there is no information that can lead us to conclude that an attempt to abduct a child took place.
"We have received no reports from the public regarding any further incidents of this nature that have taken place in Midlothian. However, we would appeal to anyone who has any information to contact police immediately.
"Lothian and Borders Police and partner agencies are committed to protecting our communities and everyone within them, and we will respond vigorously to any reports where there is a risk to children involved."
July 5, 2010, Monday
MARK McLAUGHLIN
POLICE have moved to reassure parents that there are not child snatchers lurking in their area after an internet rumour spread like wildfire.
Panicked parents in Midlothian have fuelled the flames by posting updates on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
It follows an alleged incident in the Homebase car park in Straiton Retail Park, where a woman was reported to be acting suspiciously towards an eight-year-old boy. The youngster's mother later spoke of her fear that she had been trying to entice him into her car.
Police investigated but said they found "no information that can lead to us conclude that an attempt to abduct a child took place".
However, since then there have been several unsubstantiated "sightings" of the same yellow car lurking outside Gorebridge and Bonnyrigg primary schools, Cuicken Primary in Penicuik and Lasswade High.
Facebook and Twitter chat has been buzzing with the rumours, and the Evening News has received several e-mails calling for an investigation. Some even claim that the supposed child snatchers have actually been successful in abducting children.
One man e-mailed to say he heard about the "abductions" from a neighbour who works at Gorebridge Primary.
He said: "Over the past week or so there have been a number of child abductions in the Midlothian area.
"One at Straiton Retail Park, and at primary schools in Gorebridge and Penicuik. Parents are very concerned.
"A young foreign-looking couple are doing the attempted snatches, using a yellow car.
"Only coverage of this is really via Facebook. I think there needs to be more news coverage to alert parents. Everyone is scared and keeping their kids in the house. A lot of people are worried."
Scott Birse, from Buckstone, also claimed schools were being advised to be vigilant following the incident in Straiton.
He said: "There have been two further incidents, I believe in Gorebridge and Penicuik, possibly involving the same couple in a yellow car.
"There seem to be rumours of a further two incidents. This seems quite a big issue. I would like to hear that the police are on the case."
A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman confirmed that their officers responded to an incident on 23 June in the car park of Homebase at Straiton, where a woman was reported to be acting suspiciously.
However, he said they had received no calls about any more sightings, and dismissed the further claims as hearsay.
The spokesman added: "A full investigation has been carried out in respect of [the 23 June] incident, and there is no information that can lead us to conclude that an attempt to abduct a child took place.
"We have received no reports from the public regarding any further incidents of this nature that have taken place in Midlothian. However, we would appeal to anyone who has any information to contact police immediately.
"Lothian and Borders Police and partner agencies are committed to protecting our communities and everyone within them, and we will respond vigorously to any reports where there is a risk to children involved."
Monday, 31 May 2010
NEWS: Blood Fued
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
29 May 2010
A DRIVE-BY shooting on a Lothian home is being linked to a long-running feud which has already seen firebombings, vandalism and violent attacks.
Police are investigating after a shot was fired at the house in Dalkeith's Woodburn Avenue before the attacker sped off. The terrified family were at home at the time and called 999.
It is the home of the parents of George Rae, 39, who has been targeted several times over the past ten years.
Earlier this month, armed police swooped on a nearby house as part of an investigation into alleged threats made against him. No-one was injured in the latest attack at around 11:25pm on Wednesday, after the bullet missed a window and lodged in the gutter.
But neighbours said Mr Rae was now receiving round the clock police protection. A police van was parked outside his parents' home yesterday.
A police spokesman said they would not discuss the security arrangements of individuals, but appealed for witnesses to the shooting. He said: "Thankfully no-one was injured as a result of the reckless discharge of this firearm.
"Nevertheless, this is an incident we are treating extremely seriously, and we are appealing for anyone who may have seen what happened to come forward.
"We are particularly keen to speak to anyone who noticed a dark-coloured car being driven at speed in the area after the shot was fired."
Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang at the time of the incident and a car being driven away at speed immediately after.
One neighbour said: "It's getting too scary to feel it was just a fluke shot.
"The police have been in the area on and off for a while and they knew something was coming.
"I can see why you would think it looks like a normal family street.
"But we have to try and get on with our lives while the police are here and there's people shooting guns.
"I've got kids and they are curious about it and I don't know what to tell them."
Another neighbour told the Evening News how she is moving out of the street for good following the incident.
May Thompson, 48, said she watched armed police storm through her street looking for firearms, and then had her nerves shattered by the sound of a gunshot and screeching tyres outside her house. She said: "I just can't take it. I'm terrified of guns. I need to get out. I can't stay here any more."
Mr Rae previously told the Evening News how a campaign of hatred against him started after a "disturbance" at Dalkeith Miners Club ten years ago.
He was plagued with threatening phone calls, had cars repeatedly vandalised and was later ambushed and beaten up by six thugs with scaffolding poles.
On Boxing Day nine years ago, someone threw a petrol bomb at the window of the bedroom where he was sleeping with his pregnant partner and baby son.
The family were only saved when the Molotov cocktail bounced off the room's double glazing and exploded 20ft below.
The following year Mr Rae testified against killer Owen Anderson, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of father-of-three Gary Linn on 31 August 2001.
During the trial Mr Rae told prosecutors that he received a telephone call from prison in which Anderson warned him against testifying.
Edinburgh Evening News
29 May 2010
A DRIVE-BY shooting on a Lothian home is being linked to a long-running feud which has already seen firebombings, vandalism and violent attacks.
Police are investigating after a shot was fired at the house in Dalkeith's Woodburn Avenue before the attacker sped off. The terrified family were at home at the time and called 999.
It is the home of the parents of George Rae, 39, who has been targeted several times over the past ten years.
Earlier this month, armed police swooped on a nearby house as part of an investigation into alleged threats made against him. No-one was injured in the latest attack at around 11:25pm on Wednesday, after the bullet missed a window and lodged in the gutter.
But neighbours said Mr Rae was now receiving round the clock police protection. A police van was parked outside his parents' home yesterday.
A police spokesman said they would not discuss the security arrangements of individuals, but appealed for witnesses to the shooting. He said: "Thankfully no-one was injured as a result of the reckless discharge of this firearm.
"Nevertheless, this is an incident we are treating extremely seriously, and we are appealing for anyone who may have seen what happened to come forward.
"We are particularly keen to speak to anyone who noticed a dark-coloured car being driven at speed in the area after the shot was fired."
Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang at the time of the incident and a car being driven away at speed immediately after.
One neighbour said: "It's getting too scary to feel it was just a fluke shot.
"The police have been in the area on and off for a while and they knew something was coming.
"I can see why you would think it looks like a normal family street.
"But we have to try and get on with our lives while the police are here and there's people shooting guns.
"I've got kids and they are curious about it and I don't know what to tell them."
Another neighbour told the Evening News how she is moving out of the street for good following the incident.
May Thompson, 48, said she watched armed police storm through her street looking for firearms, and then had her nerves shattered by the sound of a gunshot and screeching tyres outside her house. She said: "I just can't take it. I'm terrified of guns. I need to get out. I can't stay here any more."
Mr Rae previously told the Evening News how a campaign of hatred against him started after a "disturbance" at Dalkeith Miners Club ten years ago.
He was plagued with threatening phone calls, had cars repeatedly vandalised and was later ambushed and beaten up by six thugs with scaffolding poles.
On Boxing Day nine years ago, someone threw a petrol bomb at the window of the bedroom where he was sleeping with his pregnant partner and baby son.
The family were only saved when the Molotov cocktail bounced off the room's double glazing and exploded 20ft below.
The following year Mr Rae testified against killer Owen Anderson, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of father-of-three Gary Linn on 31 August 2001.
During the trial Mr Rae told prosecutors that he received a telephone call from prison in which Anderson warned him against testifying.
Thursday, 27 May 2010
NEWS: Suzanne Pilley - The Hunt Intensifies
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
12 May 2010
Last known movements
POLICE today repeated their appeal for information about missing Suzanne Pilley despite a "positive" response to screening her last movements on a big screen in the city centre.
The police hunt for her has intensified with forensics squads probing her workplace and appeals for help from her family and colleagues.
Miss Pilley, 38, was last seen on 4 May, the first Tuesday after the May Day bank holiday, heading for work on what appeared to be a normal day.
Detectives say they are "gravely concerned" she may have fallen victim to "a criminal act".
Forensics teams are carrying out a painstaking examination of the offices of financial services firm Infrastructure Managers Limited (IML) where she worked on Thistle Street, and a secluded lane at the rear.
Miss Pilley, who has been employed for around two years as a bookkeeper at the firm, was last seen disembarking from a No 4 bus and visiting Sainsbury's on Rose Street at around 8:50am on the day she disappeared.
She sent a text message to her mother about 20 minutes before she was last seen reportedly saying she was fine and on her way to work. Her office is less than five minutes' walk from the supermarket but police have been unable to ascertain whether she ever arrived.
A police spokeswoman said: "The forensics squad was carrying out a routine search of her office for any sign that she had been there on the day of her disappearance."
IML managing director Alan Jessop appealed for information and said: "We're all obviously very concerned about Suzanne's disappearance and we hope police appeals will lead to a successful and happy conclusion. Suzanne is just a lovely lady. She is a very valued member of staff and we are all very shocked by her disappearance."
Mr Jessop said Miss Pilley had never missed a day of work without checking in with her bosses, and that there was nothing in her demeanour in the days leading up to her disappearance to indicate she was thinking of running away.
A team of 60 officers has been drafted in to hunt for Miss Pilley, and many are currently scouring CCTV recordings of the area.
Police erected a giant television screen in St Andrew Square yesterday showing CCTV footage of her bus journey on the morning of her disappearance.
Police also distributed thousands of leaflets and took hundreds of statements from pedestrians which generated "a very positive response".
Police said Miss Pilley had recently entered into a romantic relationship and neighbours confirmed that they had seen a man apparently living with her at her home on Whitson Drive, in Saughton, for around six months.
Neighbour Scott Campbell said: "She's only been here for about a year. You see her coming and going in the stairway, and she seemed like a fairly normal person. Quite quiet, though.
"She had a boyfriend who appeared on the scene about six months ago.
"His car, a Vauxhall Vectra, was parked outside every night and left every morning so I assumed they were living together. I last saw him about six to eight weeks ago."
The door at Miss Pilley's home has now been replaced with a heavy steel security screen.
Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said Miss Pilley had recently redecorated her flat in time for spring, adding:
"I used to chat to her in the back green when she was hanging her washing out.
"She was the same as she always was, although I think she had just had her hair cut."
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Flannigan, leading the investigation, said:
"We have very grave - and I must underline the word grave - concerns for the wellbeing of Suzanne.
"We are desperate to speak to anyone who saw her walking with her shoulder bag and large water bottle last Tuesday."
PARENTS MAKE APPEAL FOR HELP
POLICE were alerted to Miss Pilley's disappearance when her parents, Robert and Sylvia, called them in the evening after their daughter failed to show up for work.
Speaking from their home in Stenhouse, father Robert, 67, said: "The family is very upset. We would have heard from her by now.
"It's right out of character for her.
"She's always texting and calling her mum and we have not heard anything from her at all since she went missing.
"We just hope somebody gets in touch with the police. It is in the hands of the police now. There's not much else we can say."
Sylvia, 67, added: "We just hope somebody has seen something.
"Suzanne is a very proud Scot - she loves the great outdoors and is always cycling, walking and loves keep fit.
"She is a great fundraiser for charity, even abseiling off the Forth Road Bridge recently. We miss her terribly as we were in touch with her daily. The past week has just been like our worst nightmare - we almost cannot believe it is actually happening.
"We are asking anyone who might have any information, however trivial, to get in touch with police and put our minds to rest. We would also like to thank the police for all their help and assistance."
Edinburgh Evening News
12 May 2010
Last known movements
POLICE today repeated their appeal for information about missing Suzanne Pilley despite a "positive" response to screening her last movements on a big screen in the city centre.
The police hunt for her has intensified with forensics squads probing her workplace and appeals for help from her family and colleagues.
Miss Pilley, 38, was last seen on 4 May, the first Tuesday after the May Day bank holiday, heading for work on what appeared to be a normal day.
Detectives say they are "gravely concerned" she may have fallen victim to "a criminal act".
Forensics teams are carrying out a painstaking examination of the offices of financial services firm Infrastructure Managers Limited (IML) where she worked on Thistle Street, and a secluded lane at the rear.
Miss Pilley, who has been employed for around two years as a bookkeeper at the firm, was last seen disembarking from a No 4 bus and visiting Sainsbury's on Rose Street at around 8:50am on the day she disappeared.
She sent a text message to her mother about 20 minutes before she was last seen reportedly saying she was fine and on her way to work. Her office is less than five minutes' walk from the supermarket but police have been unable to ascertain whether she ever arrived.
A police spokeswoman said: "The forensics squad was carrying out a routine search of her office for any sign that she had been there on the day of her disappearance."
IML managing director Alan Jessop appealed for information and said: "We're all obviously very concerned about Suzanne's disappearance and we hope police appeals will lead to a successful and happy conclusion. Suzanne is just a lovely lady. She is a very valued member of staff and we are all very shocked by her disappearance."
Mr Jessop said Miss Pilley had never missed a day of work without checking in with her bosses, and that there was nothing in her demeanour in the days leading up to her disappearance to indicate she was thinking of running away.
A team of 60 officers has been drafted in to hunt for Miss Pilley, and many are currently scouring CCTV recordings of the area.
Police erected a giant television screen in St Andrew Square yesterday showing CCTV footage of her bus journey on the morning of her disappearance.
Police also distributed thousands of leaflets and took hundreds of statements from pedestrians which generated "a very positive response".
Police said Miss Pilley had recently entered into a romantic relationship and neighbours confirmed that they had seen a man apparently living with her at her home on Whitson Drive, in Saughton, for around six months.
Neighbour Scott Campbell said: "She's only been here for about a year. You see her coming and going in the stairway, and she seemed like a fairly normal person. Quite quiet, though.
"She had a boyfriend who appeared on the scene about six months ago.
"His car, a Vauxhall Vectra, was parked outside every night and left every morning so I assumed they were living together. I last saw him about six to eight weeks ago."
The door at Miss Pilley's home has now been replaced with a heavy steel security screen.
Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said Miss Pilley had recently redecorated her flat in time for spring, adding:
"I used to chat to her in the back green when she was hanging her washing out.
"She was the same as she always was, although I think she had just had her hair cut."
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Flannigan, leading the investigation, said:
"We have very grave - and I must underline the word grave - concerns for the wellbeing of Suzanne.
"We are desperate to speak to anyone who saw her walking with her shoulder bag and large water bottle last Tuesday."
PARENTS MAKE APPEAL FOR HELP
POLICE were alerted to Miss Pilley's disappearance when her parents, Robert and Sylvia, called them in the evening after their daughter failed to show up for work.
Speaking from their home in Stenhouse, father Robert, 67, said: "The family is very upset. We would have heard from her by now.
"It's right out of character for her.
"She's always texting and calling her mum and we have not heard anything from her at all since she went missing.
"We just hope somebody gets in touch with the police. It is in the hands of the police now. There's not much else we can say."
Sylvia, 67, added: "We just hope somebody has seen something.
"Suzanne is a very proud Scot - she loves the great outdoors and is always cycling, walking and loves keep fit.
"She is a great fundraiser for charity, even abseiling off the Forth Road Bridge recently. We miss her terribly as we were in touch with her daily. The past week has just been like our worst nightmare - we almost cannot believe it is actually happening.
"We are asking anyone who might have any information, however trivial, to get in touch with police and put our minds to rest. We would also like to thank the police for all their help and assistance."
NEWS: Drive By Oranging
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
10 May 2010
POLICE are hunting a motorist who brought a bus to a standstill by cracking its windscreen with an orange.
The driver of the Lothian Buses 31 service was left "shaken but unharmed" after the windscreen was struck by the projectile while he was driving along Kenilworth Drive, in the Inch, last Tuesday night.
The orange appeared to have been thrown from a passing Vauxhall Astra, which sped off towards Kirk Brae.
Police were called and another bus was dispatched to the scene to take passengers on to their destinations.
One passenger, Thomas Gaynor, 54, from Bonnyrigg, said: "We heard this big bang and then the bus came to a stop.
"A woman who was sitting at the driver's side said she had just seen the driver of a passing Vauxhall Astra throw an orange at the windscreen. The speed of the car must have given the orange enough force to crack the windscreen, and the damage was so bad that the driver couldn't continue.
"We had to wait until the police arrived. Eventually, two police cars pulled up and the officers went and had a word with the driver.
"He told the police that the bus was fitted with CCTV cameras on the front, back and sides, so they will probably have footage of the car as it was coming towards the bus.
"The bus was unable to carry on in that condition, so another bus was sent out to pick us up.
"Why would anyone throw an orange at a bus? If it was intended as some sort of prank then it was a pretty stupid idea."
Police confirmed that an investigation was under way.
A spokesman said: "Investigations are ongoing. Something was clearly thrown at the windscreen, and officers are currently making further inquiries."
A spokesman for Lothian Buses said the bus was taken back to the depot, where it was fitted with a new windscreen overnight and sent back out on the road. He said: "The orange hit the windscreen with enough force to cause a crack and it also gave the driver a bit of a fright.
"The driver was shaken but otherwise unharmed, although it could potentially have been much worse.
"If it was something harder than an orange, like a brick, it could have gone right through the windscreen and injured the driver and his passengers.
"Hopefully, through working with the police, we will be able to help with their investigations to trace the driver responsible.
"The bus is fitted with CCTV cameras, so we'll hopefully be able to pick out a registration number that police will be able to use in their inquiries.
"This was a mindless attack which could have resulted in some very serious injuries."
Edinburgh Evening News
10 May 2010
POLICE are hunting a motorist who brought a bus to a standstill by cracking its windscreen with an orange.
The driver of the Lothian Buses 31 service was left "shaken but unharmed" after the windscreen was struck by the projectile while he was driving along Kenilworth Drive, in the Inch, last Tuesday night.
The orange appeared to have been thrown from a passing Vauxhall Astra, which sped off towards Kirk Brae.
Police were called and another bus was dispatched to the scene to take passengers on to their destinations.
One passenger, Thomas Gaynor, 54, from Bonnyrigg, said: "We heard this big bang and then the bus came to a stop.
"A woman who was sitting at the driver's side said she had just seen the driver of a passing Vauxhall Astra throw an orange at the windscreen. The speed of the car must have given the orange enough force to crack the windscreen, and the damage was so bad that the driver couldn't continue.
"We had to wait until the police arrived. Eventually, two police cars pulled up and the officers went and had a word with the driver.
"He told the police that the bus was fitted with CCTV cameras on the front, back and sides, so they will probably have footage of the car as it was coming towards the bus.
"The bus was unable to carry on in that condition, so another bus was sent out to pick us up.
"Why would anyone throw an orange at a bus? If it was intended as some sort of prank then it was a pretty stupid idea."
Police confirmed that an investigation was under way.
A spokesman said: "Investigations are ongoing. Something was clearly thrown at the windscreen, and officers are currently making further inquiries."
A spokesman for Lothian Buses said the bus was taken back to the depot, where it was fitted with a new windscreen overnight and sent back out on the road. He said: "The orange hit the windscreen with enough force to cause a crack and it also gave the driver a bit of a fright.
"The driver was shaken but otherwise unharmed, although it could potentially have been much worse.
"If it was something harder than an orange, like a brick, it could have gone right through the windscreen and injured the driver and his passengers.
"Hopefully, through working with the police, we will be able to help with their investigations to trace the driver responsible.
"The bus is fitted with CCTV cameras, so we'll hopefully be able to pick out a registration number that police will be able to use in their inquiries.
"This was a mindless attack which could have resulted in some very serious injuries."
NEWS: Thai Killer Escapes Murder Rap
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
10 May 2010
ONE of the men accused of killing a Lothians schoolteacher in Thailand is behind bars today but Foreign Office officials say he may have escaped a murder charge.
Chatchai Tarasaksit, one of three men originally accused of the murder of former Lasswade High music teacher David Crisp, has pleaded guilty to selling stolen goods.
He was sentenced to two years in prison, reduced by half on account of his guilty plea, during a trial earlier this year.
However, Foreign Office officials say he does not appear to be facing any further charges in relation to the murder of Mr Crisp.
The 56-year-old was found stabbed and beaten at his home in the northern city of Chiang Mai on 22 January last year.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: " He [Tarasaksit] pleaded guilty to selling stolen goods and was given a two-year sentence.
"We have received no further information regarding his murder charge. He has only been charged with selling stolen goods.
"It would appear that he is facing no more charges."
Mr Crisp's killers struck him over the head with teak vase, before slitting his throat and making off with a stolen safe.
However, the Foreign Office is currently unable to establish whether Tarasaksit's recent trial was related to selling goods stolen during the killing, or on a separate charge.
Tarasaksit initially admitted his part in the killing, but later changed his plea to not guilty.
His co-accused, Awoei Yaepiang, is set to stand trial on 23 November this year after he pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Crisp, and not guilty to charges of stealing his property.
Following his arrest close to the Burmese border, Yaepiang admitted his part in the killing and was photographed demonstrating how one of his accomplices bludgeoned Mr Crisp with the vase.
A third man, known only as Mr Jack, is still on the run.
Thailand is still in the grip of political protests that have stifled the economy, scared off tourists and sparked the country's deadliest political clashes in 18 years.
However, the Foreign Office says that the protests have not affected the justice system in Thailand and are unlikely to have any bearing on the trial.
Mr Crisp's sister-in-law Susan said: "The trial appears to be progressing as normal by Thai standards.
"We have been given absolutely no background knowledge about what happened that day, so we're just going to have to wait to see what is said when this other man goes to court in November."
MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO COMPOSER
A MUSICAL suite composed by David Crisp is set to be performed in Edinburgh next month.
Doi Suthep, is inspired by a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai.
According to legend, the temple was founded by a king who received a part of Buddha's shoulder bone.
The relic was placed on the back of an elephant, which climbed Doi Suthep mountain and trumpeted three times before dying. It was interpreted as a sign and the temple was constructed at the site.
Mr Crisp's sister-in-law Susan said: "It's a really beautiful piece. It's good that we are able to keep David alive through his music."
The suite will be performed at a fundraiser for The Open Orchestra, which Mr Crisp helped to found, at Nicolson Square Church on 5 June from 7:30pm. Entry is free and a closing collection will be held.
Edinburgh Evening News
10 May 2010
ONE of the men accused of killing a Lothians schoolteacher in Thailand is behind bars today but Foreign Office officials say he may have escaped a murder charge.
Chatchai Tarasaksit, one of three men originally accused of the murder of former Lasswade High music teacher David Crisp, has pleaded guilty to selling stolen goods.
He was sentenced to two years in prison, reduced by half on account of his guilty plea, during a trial earlier this year.
However, Foreign Office officials say he does not appear to be facing any further charges in relation to the murder of Mr Crisp.
The 56-year-old was found stabbed and beaten at his home in the northern city of Chiang Mai on 22 January last year.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: " He [Tarasaksit] pleaded guilty to selling stolen goods and was given a two-year sentence.
"We have received no further information regarding his murder charge. He has only been charged with selling stolen goods.
"It would appear that he is facing no more charges."
Mr Crisp's killers struck him over the head with teak vase, before slitting his throat and making off with a stolen safe.
However, the Foreign Office is currently unable to establish whether Tarasaksit's recent trial was related to selling goods stolen during the killing, or on a separate charge.
Tarasaksit initially admitted his part in the killing, but later changed his plea to not guilty.
His co-accused, Awoei Yaepiang, is set to stand trial on 23 November this year after he pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Crisp, and not guilty to charges of stealing his property.
Following his arrest close to the Burmese border, Yaepiang admitted his part in the killing and was photographed demonstrating how one of his accomplices bludgeoned Mr Crisp with the vase.
A third man, known only as Mr Jack, is still on the run.
Thailand is still in the grip of political protests that have stifled the economy, scared off tourists and sparked the country's deadliest political clashes in 18 years.
However, the Foreign Office says that the protests have not affected the justice system in Thailand and are unlikely to have any bearing on the trial.
Mr Crisp's sister-in-law Susan said: "The trial appears to be progressing as normal by Thai standards.
"We have been given absolutely no background knowledge about what happened that day, so we're just going to have to wait to see what is said when this other man goes to court in November."
MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO COMPOSER
A MUSICAL suite composed by David Crisp is set to be performed in Edinburgh next month.
Doi Suthep, is inspired by a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai.
According to legend, the temple was founded by a king who received a part of Buddha's shoulder bone.
The relic was placed on the back of an elephant, which climbed Doi Suthep mountain and trumpeted three times before dying. It was interpreted as a sign and the temple was constructed at the site.
Mr Crisp's sister-in-law Susan said: "It's a really beautiful piece. It's good that we are able to keep David alive through his music."
The suite will be performed at a fundraiser for The Open Orchestra, which Mr Crisp helped to found, at Nicolson Square Church on 5 June from 7:30pm. Entry is free and a closing collection will be held.
NEWS: Don't Fuck With 'Hang 'Em Hook'
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
5 May 2010
Getaway bid nearly costs robber his life after raid on sheriff
A THIEF was rescued from the Water of Leith after botching his escape from a robbery at a retired sheriff's house.
Thief Michael MacKinnon burst into 91-year-old William Hook's Moray Place home on 27 January this year and covered the ex-sheriff's head with a cloth before punching him, stealing his war medals and trying to make his escape by jumping into the freezing water.
However, MacKinnon's haul - which amounted to £5 cash and a few items of "sentimental value" - almost cost him his life as he soon found himself struggling against the current.
He was eventually "lifted" at the Bell's Brae Bridge, nearly 500 metres downstream, by Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue water rescue crews.
The 26-year-old was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where he was eventually handed over to police following treatment for hypothermia.
His victim - a former PoW whose fearsome reputation amongst criminals earned him the nickname "Hang 'em Hook" - today said he had been up for "a bit of fisticuffs".
Sheriff Hook said: "He gave me a black eye so I gave him one back. He probably thought he had got lucky when he saw me but there's life in me yet and I thumped him as hard as I could.
"He didn't scare me - in fact, I like a bit of fisticuffs. I've come through worse things in my life that is for sure.
"I had a tough time as a PoW and came back showing nothing but rag and bone.
"Nevertheless, I survived and here I am today, still fighting off what the world throws at me."
MacKinnon pleaded guilty yesterday to assault and robbery charges.
Fiscal depute Ruth Ross-Davie told Edinburgh Sheriff Court: "MacKinnon entered the house by the front door, which was shut but not locked. It was left open because Sheriff Hook regarded himself to be living in a good area and wouldn't require to lock his door.
"MacKinnon entered a bedroom and went through all the drawers and cupboards, stealing a number of items including cufflinks, two medals, some gold buttons and tie pins.
"He then approached Sheriff Hook, who was in the sitting room, and covered his head with a cloth and indicated he wanted him to give him all his money.
"He gave MacKinnon the GBP 5 note which had been in his pocket, before the accused made his escape out the back door.
"He was rescued from the water by the fire service.
"Witnesses had seen suspicious goings-on and contacted police about a stranger entering the sheriff's house.
"By the time police got there, they found MacKinnon in the Water of Leith and they were able to recover all of the items taken from Sheriff Hook.
"He was unable to put a value on the items, which included wartime medals, but they had a significant sentimental value.
"He suffered bruising to the face as a result of the commotion of the covering of his head."
The ex-sheriff declined medical attention but gave police a statement after MacKinnon was arrested.
MacKinnon, whose address was given as Prison of Edinburgh, appeared from custody before Sheriff Derrick McIntyre. His defence agent, Cameron Tait, did not apply for bail and reserved any statement until sentencing.
Sheriff McIntyre called for background reports and ordered MacKinnon to be brought back to court later this month.
Edinburgh Evening News
5 May 2010
Getaway bid nearly costs robber his life after raid on sheriff
A THIEF was rescued from the Water of Leith after botching his escape from a robbery at a retired sheriff's house.
Thief Michael MacKinnon burst into 91-year-old William Hook's Moray Place home on 27 January this year and covered the ex-sheriff's head with a cloth before punching him, stealing his war medals and trying to make his escape by jumping into the freezing water.
However, MacKinnon's haul - which amounted to £5 cash and a few items of "sentimental value" - almost cost him his life as he soon found himself struggling against the current.
He was eventually "lifted" at the Bell's Brae Bridge, nearly 500 metres downstream, by Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue water rescue crews.
The 26-year-old was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where he was eventually handed over to police following treatment for hypothermia.
His victim - a former PoW whose fearsome reputation amongst criminals earned him the nickname "Hang 'em Hook" - today said he had been up for "a bit of fisticuffs".
Sheriff Hook said: "He gave me a black eye so I gave him one back. He probably thought he had got lucky when he saw me but there's life in me yet and I thumped him as hard as I could.
"He didn't scare me - in fact, I like a bit of fisticuffs. I've come through worse things in my life that is for sure.
"I had a tough time as a PoW and came back showing nothing but rag and bone.
"Nevertheless, I survived and here I am today, still fighting off what the world throws at me."
MacKinnon pleaded guilty yesterday to assault and robbery charges.
Fiscal depute Ruth Ross-Davie told Edinburgh Sheriff Court: "MacKinnon entered the house by the front door, which was shut but not locked. It was left open because Sheriff Hook regarded himself to be living in a good area and wouldn't require to lock his door.
"MacKinnon entered a bedroom and went through all the drawers and cupboards, stealing a number of items including cufflinks, two medals, some gold buttons and tie pins.
"He then approached Sheriff Hook, who was in the sitting room, and covered his head with a cloth and indicated he wanted him to give him all his money.
"He gave MacKinnon the GBP 5 note which had been in his pocket, before the accused made his escape out the back door.
"He was rescued from the water by the fire service.
"Witnesses had seen suspicious goings-on and contacted police about a stranger entering the sheriff's house.
"By the time police got there, they found MacKinnon in the Water of Leith and they were able to recover all of the items taken from Sheriff Hook.
"He was unable to put a value on the items, which included wartime medals, but they had a significant sentimental value.
"He suffered bruising to the face as a result of the commotion of the covering of his head."
The ex-sheriff declined medical attention but gave police a statement after MacKinnon was arrested.
MacKinnon, whose address was given as Prison of Edinburgh, appeared from custody before Sheriff Derrick McIntyre. His defence agent, Cameron Tait, did not apply for bail and reserved any statement until sentencing.
Sheriff McIntyre called for background reports and ordered MacKinnon to be brought back to court later this month.
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
NEWS: "We work too hard to give up our takings without a fight..."
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
14 April 2010
Shopkeeper sees off knifeman in third attempted robbery
AN ELDERLY shopkeeper and his wife have vowed no-one will make him give up his hard-earned takings after chasing away an armed robber - for the third time.
Pritam Bakshi, owner of Keen Kost newsagent on Dundas Street, fended off a knifeman with a clip-board in the latest incident, with the robber eventually fleeing empty-handed.
The attempted robbery last Friday was not the first time Mr Bakshi, who is in his late 70s, and his wife Shashi, 59, have stood up to armed thugs.
Mrs Bakshi has previously refused to hand over money to a knifeman who threatened to kill her, while Mr Bakshi has also fought off a thief despite being beaten over the head with a champagne bottle.
The couple, who are originally from New Delhi in India and have owned the store for more than 30 years, say they will never give in to "cowardly" thieves.
Mr Bakshi said today: "We're in this shop from 5:15am to 9pm nearly every day and there's no way we're going to work so hard for someone to come and take it from us."
He said the latest incident happened shortly before closing time on Friday, when a masked man entered the shop.
"He walked into the shop with a black cap on and a scarf pulled up to his nose so I knew he was up to something. He held out his arm and showed me a blade sticking out of his jacket sleeve, and told me to hand over everything in the till. I said to him, 'You must be joking.'
"I knew there was enough space between me and the other end of the counter to dodge his knife so I took a step back, grabbed a clipboard for protection and shouted for my wife down in the cellar.
"I think the thought of having to face both of us made him lose his nerve so he ran away. I chased him outside but he disappeared.
"These people are basically cowards. They lose their nerve the minute someone stands up to them."
Mrs Bakshi, who has six children with her husband aged between ten and 25, fought off her own assailant around a year ago, when a man entered the store and threatened her with a knife.
She said: "It was a similar situation to Friday. A man walked in, handed me two bags and demanded all the money in the till.
"He threatened to kill me unless I did as he said, but I removed the keys to the till and threw them down to my son in the cellar.
"I shouted to my son to come upstairs and the man ran away."
The couple said the most serious incident happened around eight years ago when Mr Bakshi had to physically restrain an attacker to protect himself from being repeatedly beaten with a champagne bottle.
Mr Bakshi said: "On that occasion the man whacked me over the head with the bottle.
"He said he would hit me again if I didn't hand over the money in the till, but I reached up and grabbed both of his arms and forced him back.
"He had hit me pretty hard and the blood was streaming down my face and into my eyes, but I wasn't going to let him go.
"I had to go to the hospital and the nurses said I had lost so much blood that they were amazed I didn't faint."
Police are appealing for witnesses to the latest incident, which happened around 8:50pm on Friday. The suspect is described as white, 6ft with a local accent. He was wearing a black jacket, black trousers, a black hat and had a black scarf covering his face.
Edinburgh Evening News
14 April 2010
Shopkeeper sees off knifeman in third attempted robbery
AN ELDERLY shopkeeper and his wife have vowed no-one will make him give up his hard-earned takings after chasing away an armed robber - for the third time.
Pritam Bakshi, owner of Keen Kost newsagent on Dundas Street, fended off a knifeman with a clip-board in the latest incident, with the robber eventually fleeing empty-handed.
The attempted robbery last Friday was not the first time Mr Bakshi, who is in his late 70s, and his wife Shashi, 59, have stood up to armed thugs.
Mrs Bakshi has previously refused to hand over money to a knifeman who threatened to kill her, while Mr Bakshi has also fought off a thief despite being beaten over the head with a champagne bottle.
The couple, who are originally from New Delhi in India and have owned the store for more than 30 years, say they will never give in to "cowardly" thieves.
Mr Bakshi said today: "We're in this shop from 5:15am to 9pm nearly every day and there's no way we're going to work so hard for someone to come and take it from us."
He said the latest incident happened shortly before closing time on Friday, when a masked man entered the shop.
"He walked into the shop with a black cap on and a scarf pulled up to his nose so I knew he was up to something. He held out his arm and showed me a blade sticking out of his jacket sleeve, and told me to hand over everything in the till. I said to him, 'You must be joking.'
"I knew there was enough space between me and the other end of the counter to dodge his knife so I took a step back, grabbed a clipboard for protection and shouted for my wife down in the cellar.
"I think the thought of having to face both of us made him lose his nerve so he ran away. I chased him outside but he disappeared.
"These people are basically cowards. They lose their nerve the minute someone stands up to them."
Mrs Bakshi, who has six children with her husband aged between ten and 25, fought off her own assailant around a year ago, when a man entered the store and threatened her with a knife.
She said: "It was a similar situation to Friday. A man walked in, handed me two bags and demanded all the money in the till.
"He threatened to kill me unless I did as he said, but I removed the keys to the till and threw them down to my son in the cellar.
"I shouted to my son to come upstairs and the man ran away."
The couple said the most serious incident happened around eight years ago when Mr Bakshi had to physically restrain an attacker to protect himself from being repeatedly beaten with a champagne bottle.
Mr Bakshi said: "On that occasion the man whacked me over the head with the bottle.
"He said he would hit me again if I didn't hand over the money in the till, but I reached up and grabbed both of his arms and forced him back.
"He had hit me pretty hard and the blood was streaming down my face and into my eyes, but I wasn't going to let him go.
"I had to go to the hospital and the nurses said I had lost so much blood that they were amazed I didn't faint."
Police are appealing for witnesses to the latest incident, which happened around 8:50pm on Friday. The suspect is described as white, 6ft with a local accent. He was wearing a black jacket, black trousers, a black hat and had a black scarf covering his face.
NEWS: Firecops
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
31 March 2010
A POLICE officer has told how a chance inquiry in the middle of the night led to the rescue of a family of four from a house fire.
Pc Alan Mark and his colleague Pc Dale Jackson have been commended for going beyond the call of duty by rushing into the house to extinguish the blaze and evacuate a mother and her three young children.
The woman is understood to have been asleep on the couch with her three-year-old daughter in the living room of her house in Gareloch Way, Whitburn, when she was woken by a knock on the door at 2:20am on Friday.
Police had found her partner's car damaged and off the road earlier that night, and the two officers had called round to make sure the family had not come to harm.
However, shortly after the woman answered the door, the officers smelled smoke coming from the room where she had been sleeping just minutes earlier.
Pc Mark said: "She went back into the living room and saw that the place was on fire.
"She shouted to us for assistance and my colleague helped her get her three children, a two-year-old son and two daughters aged three and seven, out of the house. I put out the fire with several jugs of water that were passed through to me from the kitchen. There was quite a bit of smoke.
"We called the fire brigade for assistance and an ambulance was also sent out.
"The fire brigade found that the fire started in a lamp, and they believe an item of clothing was left lying on it.
"The children were a bit frightened getting woken up at that time in the morning, and the two- year-old was eventually taken to hospital as a precaution.
"The woman was also quite stressed. We think we had just woken her up when we knocked on the door."
The family at the centre of the drama declined to comment.
However, the officers' chief inspector, Graham Jones, has commended Pc Mark, 40, and Pc Jackson, 29, for their quick thinking. Chief Inspector Jones said: "I am delighted that the quick thinking and decisiveness of these two officers prevented a frightening incident from turning into a more serious ordeal.
"Fortunately, all occupants were safely removed before the fire service attended and made the property safe.
"Lothian and Borders Police are committed to making our communities safer. However, Pc Mark and Pc Jackson surpassed what was required of them to ensure these members of the public came to no harm."
David Lockhart, Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service community safety manager, also commended the officers.
He said: "We always stress that if you discover a fire, you should get out, stay out and call the fire and rescue service.
"The occupier was fortunate to have such immediate help to evacuate her and her children safely and the police were obviously confident enough to tackle the fire and extinguish it before we arrived."
Edinburgh Evening News
31 March 2010
A POLICE officer has told how a chance inquiry in the middle of the night led to the rescue of a family of four from a house fire.
Pc Alan Mark and his colleague Pc Dale Jackson have been commended for going beyond the call of duty by rushing into the house to extinguish the blaze and evacuate a mother and her three young children.
The woman is understood to have been asleep on the couch with her three-year-old daughter in the living room of her house in Gareloch Way, Whitburn, when she was woken by a knock on the door at 2:20am on Friday.
Police had found her partner's car damaged and off the road earlier that night, and the two officers had called round to make sure the family had not come to harm.
However, shortly after the woman answered the door, the officers smelled smoke coming from the room where she had been sleeping just minutes earlier.
Pc Mark said: "She went back into the living room and saw that the place was on fire.
"She shouted to us for assistance and my colleague helped her get her three children, a two-year-old son and two daughters aged three and seven, out of the house. I put out the fire with several jugs of water that were passed through to me from the kitchen. There was quite a bit of smoke.
"We called the fire brigade for assistance and an ambulance was also sent out.
"The fire brigade found that the fire started in a lamp, and they believe an item of clothing was left lying on it.
"The children were a bit frightened getting woken up at that time in the morning, and the two- year-old was eventually taken to hospital as a precaution.
"The woman was also quite stressed. We think we had just woken her up when we knocked on the door."
The family at the centre of the drama declined to comment.
However, the officers' chief inspector, Graham Jones, has commended Pc Mark, 40, and Pc Jackson, 29, for their quick thinking. Chief Inspector Jones said: "I am delighted that the quick thinking and decisiveness of these two officers prevented a frightening incident from turning into a more serious ordeal.
"Fortunately, all occupants were safely removed before the fire service attended and made the property safe.
"Lothian and Borders Police are committed to making our communities safer. However, Pc Mark and Pc Jackson surpassed what was required of them to ensure these members of the public came to no harm."
David Lockhart, Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service community safety manager, also commended the officers.
He said: "We always stress that if you discover a fire, you should get out, stay out and call the fire and rescue service.
"The occupier was fortunate to have such immediate help to evacuate her and her children safely and the police were obviously confident enough to tackle the fire and extinguish it before we arrived."
NEWS: Samantha Wright RIP
MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
26 March 2010
THE mother of a young woman discovered dead more than a year after she went missing is finally preparing to lay her remains to rest - as the News can reveal that a man has been charged with her murder.
Catherine Gibson told of her agony as the body of 25-year old Samantha Wright was released by Lothian and Borders Police, more than six months after her remains were discovered in a wheelie bin in Duddingston.
Robert Chalmers, 57, who appeared in private at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 14 October last year charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, has since been charged with murdering Samantha.
FOR 18 agonising months Catherine Gibson prayed for the day that her missing daughter Samantha Wright would come home. For the last six months she has been dreading it.
Ever since the 25-year-old's remains were discovered in a wheelie bin in Duddingston last October, she has known the time would come when she would have to lay her "beautiful" daughter to rest.
Now, finally, her body has been released by Lothian and Borders Police and she can start to do the things that other grieving relatives normally do, such as planning a funeral service.
"I'm just glad we have got her back and we can finally lay her to rest," said Ms Gibson, 47, a council cleaner. "It's been six months that we have been waiting. Bless her."
Samantha - a lively and outgoing young woman, "happy and bubbly and trusting of anybody" in her mother's words - had friends in Edinburgh and Stevenage, Hertfordshire, where she grew up.
Many are expected to pack the Harwood Park Crematorium in her family's home town next Thursday to celebrate her tragically short life. The family have said that all who knew Samantha are welcome to attend.
On that day, they will briefly put aside the horrific circumstances of Samantha's death - the discovery of her body in an overgrown garden in Magdalene Drive after months of searching by police - to remember the joy she brought into their lives.
For Samantha's father, Jeremy Wright, 47, who works for a Stevenage joinery firm, it will be a moment of healing after months of "hell".
He said: "We've had an awfully long wait but the police were quite clear about what they had to do and the reason for delay.
"In fact, it was our insistence that they hold on to Samantha's body for as long as they needed to recover whatever evidence they could to secure a conviction.
"We're expecting quite a crowd to come to pay their respects.
"It's taken us all back six months. We're still a long way from getting over her loss - in fact, we'll never get over her loss - but we've been trying to move on.
"We knew that all of these feelings were going to come back and bite us eventually, with the funeral to plan and a trial looming, but the news that she's coming home has been a major setback for us emotionally.
"We've been through hell and I don't think it's something we'll ever recover from."
Samantha moved to the Capital four years ago after falling in love with the city on a family holiday.
She worked initially as a waitress, but later fell into a "haphazard" lifestyle, with a dwindling circle of friends.
The last sighting of her alive came as she made her way home from the Jobcentre at High Riggs in Edinburgh on 12 June, 2008.
She left behind all her belongings at her rented home in Stevenson Drive, Saughton.
Friends, including boyfriend Simon Sawers, 22, assumed she had upped sticks and moved back to England.
Her family reported her missing in February last year after she failed to get in contact at Christmas or on her birthday on 5 January.
Detectives soon discovered no cash had been withdrawn from her bank account and she had not used her mobile phone.
It was several months, though, before the grim discovery in the back garden of the flat on Magdalene Drive on 12 October.
Nestled amongst bits of wood and tools, behind an overgrown garden hedge, police found the bin with her remains inside.
Ms Gibson said: "She wanted to be an actress and did really well at school. I don't think she ever got told off. She was a beautiful person and I can't tell you how much I miss her and love her.
"The last time I saw her alive, I remember seeing her off on the coach and I'll never forget her face that day until I die."
Looking towards next week's funeral, her brother, Jeff Slingsby, said: "We feel like we can pay our respects and be with her again."
Samantha Wright's funeral will be held at Harwood Park Crematorium in Stevenage at 1:15pm on Thursday, 1 April.
Edinburgh Evening News
26 March 2010
THE mother of a young woman discovered dead more than a year after she went missing is finally preparing to lay her remains to rest - as the News can reveal that a man has been charged with her murder.
Catherine Gibson told of her agony as the body of 25-year old Samantha Wright was released by Lothian and Borders Police, more than six months after her remains were discovered in a wheelie bin in Duddingston.
Robert Chalmers, 57, who appeared in private at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 14 October last year charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, has since been charged with murdering Samantha.
FOR 18 agonising months Catherine Gibson prayed for the day that her missing daughter Samantha Wright would come home. For the last six months she has been dreading it.
Ever since the 25-year-old's remains were discovered in a wheelie bin in Duddingston last October, she has known the time would come when she would have to lay her "beautiful" daughter to rest.
Now, finally, her body has been released by Lothian and Borders Police and she can start to do the things that other grieving relatives normally do, such as planning a funeral service.
"I'm just glad we have got her back and we can finally lay her to rest," said Ms Gibson, 47, a council cleaner. "It's been six months that we have been waiting. Bless her."
Samantha - a lively and outgoing young woman, "happy and bubbly and trusting of anybody" in her mother's words - had friends in Edinburgh and Stevenage, Hertfordshire, where she grew up.
Many are expected to pack the Harwood Park Crematorium in her family's home town next Thursday to celebrate her tragically short life. The family have said that all who knew Samantha are welcome to attend.
On that day, they will briefly put aside the horrific circumstances of Samantha's death - the discovery of her body in an overgrown garden in Magdalene Drive after months of searching by police - to remember the joy she brought into their lives.
For Samantha's father, Jeremy Wright, 47, who works for a Stevenage joinery firm, it will be a moment of healing after months of "hell".
He said: "We've had an awfully long wait but the police were quite clear about what they had to do and the reason for delay.
"In fact, it was our insistence that they hold on to Samantha's body for as long as they needed to recover whatever evidence they could to secure a conviction.
"We're expecting quite a crowd to come to pay their respects.
"It's taken us all back six months. We're still a long way from getting over her loss - in fact, we'll never get over her loss - but we've been trying to move on.
"We knew that all of these feelings were going to come back and bite us eventually, with the funeral to plan and a trial looming, but the news that she's coming home has been a major setback for us emotionally.
"We've been through hell and I don't think it's something we'll ever recover from."
Samantha moved to the Capital four years ago after falling in love with the city on a family holiday.
She worked initially as a waitress, but later fell into a "haphazard" lifestyle, with a dwindling circle of friends.
The last sighting of her alive came as she made her way home from the Jobcentre at High Riggs in Edinburgh on 12 June, 2008.
She left behind all her belongings at her rented home in Stevenson Drive, Saughton.
Friends, including boyfriend Simon Sawers, 22, assumed she had upped sticks and moved back to England.
Her family reported her missing in February last year after she failed to get in contact at Christmas or on her birthday on 5 January.
Detectives soon discovered no cash had been withdrawn from her bank account and she had not used her mobile phone.
It was several months, though, before the grim discovery in the back garden of the flat on Magdalene Drive on 12 October.
Nestled amongst bits of wood and tools, behind an overgrown garden hedge, police found the bin with her remains inside.
Ms Gibson said: "She wanted to be an actress and did really well at school. I don't think she ever got told off. She was a beautiful person and I can't tell you how much I miss her and love her.
"The last time I saw her alive, I remember seeing her off on the coach and I'll never forget her face that day until I die."
Looking towards next week's funeral, her brother, Jeff Slingsby, said: "We feel like we can pay our respects and be with her again."
Samantha Wright's funeral will be held at Harwood Park Crematorium in Stevenage at 1:15pm on Thursday, 1 April.
Sunday, 14 February 2010
NEWS: Death by Mobile
By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
1 February 2010
A COUPLE are suing the estate of a van driver who died when he crashed into their car while talking on a mobile phone - leaving their son confined to a wheelchair.
Heather and Steven Gray, of Eliburn in Livingston, are seeking damages from the estate of Qiqin Lin, 28, who lost control of a rusted and overloaded delivery van on the M8 while taking a call and spun into oncoming traffic.
Mrs Gray was driving along the opposite carriageway with her two children when the van came hurtling towards her on its side.
A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the crash near Shotts on 29 December, 2007, concluded that Mr Qiqin, a Chinese supermarket worker formerly of Falconer Rise in Livingston, was solely to blame for the crash.
It is understood that the Grays have already settled a claim for their 15-year-old son, who was paralysed in the crash, but they are still seeking damages for injuries sustained to Mrs Gray, 45, a former staff nurse who is now medically retired, and their 11-year-old daughter.
Mrs Gray said: "This isn't a lottery win. We've been left with a lot of bills for things like adapted cars and other medical costs.
"I have no feelings towards the driver whatsoever. The man left behind a family and we are sympathetic to that. I feel for their loss.
"However, people need to be made aware of the consequences of their actions if they break the laws that have been put in place to save lives."
The Grays are calling for tougher sentences for drivers caught flouting the law prohibiting driving with a handheld mobile phone, which took effect just ten months before their own devastating crash.
Mrs Gray added: "The current legislation doesn't go far enough. People should be jailed for it, because they are putting people's lives at risk. Ours was an accident that could have been prevented. The FAI speaks for itself."
In his determination at Hamilton Sheriff Court last month, Sheriff Thomas Millar concluded that had Mr Qiqin complied with the relevant legal requirements regarding use of mobile phones, loading of his vehicle and construction and use, the accident would not have occurred.
Telephone records show that Mr Qiqin made and received several calls during his journey from Glasgow to Edinburgh, including a call received immediately before his van spun out of control.
Mark O'Dowd, director of operations at personal injury lawyers HBJ Gateley Wareing, confirmed that the firm was pursuing a case against the estate of Qiqin Lin on behalf of the Gray family.
Mr Qiqin's former housemate on Falconer Rise said his wife Fang Chen has now returned to China with their daughter, leaving the administration of his estate to her lawyers.
Comment - Page 12
Edinburgh Evening News
1 February 2010
A COUPLE are suing the estate of a van driver who died when he crashed into their car while talking on a mobile phone - leaving their son confined to a wheelchair.
Heather and Steven Gray, of Eliburn in Livingston, are seeking damages from the estate of Qiqin Lin, 28, who lost control of a rusted and overloaded delivery van on the M8 while taking a call and spun into oncoming traffic.
Mrs Gray was driving along the opposite carriageway with her two children when the van came hurtling towards her on its side.
A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the crash near Shotts on 29 December, 2007, concluded that Mr Qiqin, a Chinese supermarket worker formerly of Falconer Rise in Livingston, was solely to blame for the crash.
It is understood that the Grays have already settled a claim for their 15-year-old son, who was paralysed in the crash, but they are still seeking damages for injuries sustained to Mrs Gray, 45, a former staff nurse who is now medically retired, and their 11-year-old daughter.
Mrs Gray said: "This isn't a lottery win. We've been left with a lot of bills for things like adapted cars and other medical costs.
"I have no feelings towards the driver whatsoever. The man left behind a family and we are sympathetic to that. I feel for their loss.
"However, people need to be made aware of the consequences of their actions if they break the laws that have been put in place to save lives."
The Grays are calling for tougher sentences for drivers caught flouting the law prohibiting driving with a handheld mobile phone, which took effect just ten months before their own devastating crash.
Mrs Gray added: "The current legislation doesn't go far enough. People should be jailed for it, because they are putting people's lives at risk. Ours was an accident that could have been prevented. The FAI speaks for itself."
In his determination at Hamilton Sheriff Court last month, Sheriff Thomas Millar concluded that had Mr Qiqin complied with the relevant legal requirements regarding use of mobile phones, loading of his vehicle and construction and use, the accident would not have occurred.
Telephone records show that Mr Qiqin made and received several calls during his journey from Glasgow to Edinburgh, including a call received immediately before his van spun out of control.
Mark O'Dowd, director of operations at personal injury lawyers HBJ Gateley Wareing, confirmed that the firm was pursuing a case against the estate of Qiqin Lin on behalf of the Gray family.
Mr Qiqin's former housemate on Falconer Rise said his wife Fang Chen has now returned to China with their daughter, leaving the administration of his estate to her lawyers.
Comment - Page 12
NEWS: Sexual Offences Prevention Orders
By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
18 January 2010
MORE perverts deemed to be at risk of reoffending are being monitored in the Lothians than anywhere else in Scotland, it emerged today.
New figures show that more than a quarter of sexual offence prevention orders (SOPOs) handed out across the country last year were in the Lothians.
The strict orders - which are given to those convicted of a sex offence or a serious offence with a sexual element - impose restrictions on where a person can live and can even restrict access to the internet.
Police today insisted the high number of orders reflected their "proactive" approach and did not suggest a higher number of offenders.
Lothians MSP Robin Harper, who uncovered the figures in a question to justice minister Kenny MacAskill, said the high number of SOPO applications was an indication of Lothian and Border Police's "diligence" in using the latest legislation to crack down on sex offences in the city.
He said: "It shows that police and the courts are doing their jobs."
Last year 39 such orders were handed out across Scotland, of which 11 were in the Lothians.
A total of 37 SOPOs have been given out in the Lothians in the last five years.
This compares to just 18 in Strathclyde, Scotland's largest force.
However, the number of SOPOs handed out by each force appears disproportionate to the number of registered sex offenders (RSOs) living in the respective areas.
The current number of RSOs in the Lothians is 678, more than half the 1,425 being monitored in Strathclyde.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Bill Aitken, a Glasgow MSP, said: "Clearly there is a discrepancy in terms of the respective populations of the number of registered sex offenders in the force area, compared to the number of SOPOs applied for.
"Perhaps Lothian and Borders Police are applying different criteria when applying for SOPOs compared with other forces."
The first man to be given a SOPO in Edinburgh was paedophile Richard Duff, a self- confessed risk to children who was later jailed twice for breaching the terms of his SOPO forbidding him from going near schools, playparks or childcare centres.
He was arrested for the second time lurking in a park during a police surveillance operation in 2005, giving an indication of the level of scrutiny placed upon these heavily restricted offenders.
Police refused to reveal the techniques they use to ensure offenders comply with SOPO restrictions, but said the responsibility for monitoring them would fall to their offender management team and uniformed officers. Breach of a SOPO is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Lothian and Borders Police gave an assurance that it had the resources to handle the increased surveillance such offenders require. A force spokesman said: "sexual offences prevention orders are issued to monitor offenders where there is a perceived risk of reoffending and places restrictions on their behaviour. The number of SOPOs applied for and subsequently granted within theforce area highlights a shared view by police and partner agencies of the importance of maintaining public safety.
"Prevention orders are one tool we use in our monitoring of sex offenders and we will continue to use all resources at our disposal to ensure the safety of the communities we serve."
PERVERTS ON THE ROLL CALL OF SHAME
A NUMBER of high-profile sex offenders have been hit with sexual offence prevention orders (SOPOs) in Lothian.
Last month, convicted rapist Keith Martin, 44, faced jail for breaching his SOPO by forming a relationship with a girl aged about five.
Shamed weightlifting champion Alan Ogilvie (pictured right), 41, was jailed for three years in November last year for tricking young boys into taking part in internet "cyber-sex" sessions from his Edinburgh home and breaking his SOPO.
Ex-soldier Douglas McNaught, 61, was moved by police from his Prestonfield Avenue home last September after being hounded by a vigilante group. McNaught, the subject of a SOPO, was jailed in 1993 after admitting lewd behaviour towards a girl.
In August last year, sex attacker John Bermingham (pictured left), 43, was granted legal aid to challenge a ban on travelling by bus. Bermingham was given a SOPO at the end of a nine-year prison sentence for attempting to rape an 11-year-old girl.
Paedophile Richard Duff, 33, was jailed in May 2008 for breaching a SOPO banning him from playgrounds and parks for a third time. In 2004, he had been the first person in the Lothians to be handed a SOPO.
Convicted sex offender Andrew McGinlay, was jailed for two years in December 2007 after allowing two four-year-olds into his Leith home. It breached his SOPO, which banned him from contact with children.
Edinburgh Evening News
18 January 2010
MORE perverts deemed to be at risk of reoffending are being monitored in the Lothians than anywhere else in Scotland, it emerged today.
New figures show that more than a quarter of sexual offence prevention orders (SOPOs) handed out across the country last year were in the Lothians.
The strict orders - which are given to those convicted of a sex offence or a serious offence with a sexual element - impose restrictions on where a person can live and can even restrict access to the internet.
Police today insisted the high number of orders reflected their "proactive" approach and did not suggest a higher number of offenders.
Lothians MSP Robin Harper, who uncovered the figures in a question to justice minister Kenny MacAskill, said the high number of SOPO applications was an indication of Lothian and Border Police's "diligence" in using the latest legislation to crack down on sex offences in the city.
He said: "It shows that police and the courts are doing their jobs."
Last year 39 such orders were handed out across Scotland, of which 11 were in the Lothians.
A total of 37 SOPOs have been given out in the Lothians in the last five years.
This compares to just 18 in Strathclyde, Scotland's largest force.
However, the number of SOPOs handed out by each force appears disproportionate to the number of registered sex offenders (RSOs) living in the respective areas.
The current number of RSOs in the Lothians is 678, more than half the 1,425 being monitored in Strathclyde.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Bill Aitken, a Glasgow MSP, said: "Clearly there is a discrepancy in terms of the respective populations of the number of registered sex offenders in the force area, compared to the number of SOPOs applied for.
"Perhaps Lothian and Borders Police are applying different criteria when applying for SOPOs compared with other forces."
The first man to be given a SOPO in Edinburgh was paedophile Richard Duff, a self- confessed risk to children who was later jailed twice for breaching the terms of his SOPO forbidding him from going near schools, playparks or childcare centres.
He was arrested for the second time lurking in a park during a police surveillance operation in 2005, giving an indication of the level of scrutiny placed upon these heavily restricted offenders.
Police refused to reveal the techniques they use to ensure offenders comply with SOPO restrictions, but said the responsibility for monitoring them would fall to their offender management team and uniformed officers. Breach of a SOPO is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Lothian and Borders Police gave an assurance that it had the resources to handle the increased surveillance such offenders require. A force spokesman said: "sexual offences prevention orders are issued to monitor offenders where there is a perceived risk of reoffending and places restrictions on their behaviour. The number of SOPOs applied for and subsequently granted within theforce area highlights a shared view by police and partner agencies of the importance of maintaining public safety.
"Prevention orders are one tool we use in our monitoring of sex offenders and we will continue to use all resources at our disposal to ensure the safety of the communities we serve."
PERVERTS ON THE ROLL CALL OF SHAME
A NUMBER of high-profile sex offenders have been hit with sexual offence prevention orders (SOPOs) in Lothian.
Last month, convicted rapist Keith Martin, 44, faced jail for breaching his SOPO by forming a relationship with a girl aged about five.
Shamed weightlifting champion Alan Ogilvie (pictured right), 41, was jailed for three years in November last year for tricking young boys into taking part in internet "cyber-sex" sessions from his Edinburgh home and breaking his SOPO.
Ex-soldier Douglas McNaught, 61, was moved by police from his Prestonfield Avenue home last September after being hounded by a vigilante group. McNaught, the subject of a SOPO, was jailed in 1993 after admitting lewd behaviour towards a girl.
In August last year, sex attacker John Bermingham (pictured left), 43, was granted legal aid to challenge a ban on travelling by bus. Bermingham was given a SOPO at the end of a nine-year prison sentence for attempting to rape an 11-year-old girl.
Paedophile Richard Duff, 33, was jailed in May 2008 for breaching a SOPO banning him from playgrounds and parks for a third time. In 2004, he had been the first person in the Lothians to be handed a SOPO.
Convicted sex offender Andrew McGinlay, was jailed for two years in December 2007 after allowing two four-year-olds into his Leith home. It breached his SOPO, which banned him from contact with children.
FEATURE: The Torso Murder
By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
15 January 2010
When the scattered parts of a woman's body were discovered around the city, Edinburgh's murder squad swung into action. In the last of our series on Lothian murders, MARK McLAUGHLIN looks at how city police tackled one of their toughest cases - the Torso Murder
In one of the most gruesome cases Edinburgh's police have faced, it came down to inter-force cooperation to finally solve the Torso Murder
BACK in the 1960s, deep in the bowels of police HQ on the High Street was a basement office with a makeshift sign reading "Murder Squad" sticky-taped to the door.
"They are too busy for the niceties of interior decoration," observed an Evening News reporter as he made his way down those "bleak tunnels" to the office manned by Edinburgh CID's major incident team. In 1969 they were indeed very busy - as those officers began one of the biggest inquiries Scotland has ever seen.
On 24 March 1969 a railway plate layer examining the track under a flyover in Broomhall found a partially stockinged leg wrapped in a brown paper parcel. Within the hour the Murder Squad, led by Detective Superintendent Ronald Clancy, was on the scene.
Nine hours later, another horrifying discovery was made. A second leg was found after a woman reported a parcel lying in the Water of Leith in Balerno.
Det Supt Clancy informed the press: "We are treating this as a murder inquiry".
Every police force in Britain was ordered to check their files for missing women. Police leave was cancelled, forensic "battle wagons" were primed, frogmen were drafted in to search the length of the Water of Leith, bricks were thrown from bridges to estimate the trajectory of hurled body parts and locals were put on alert for any more suspicious parcels.
It was one of the most curious as well as grisly cases in Scottish history and Det Supt Clancy, the man in charge of the investigation, had been head of Edinburgh CID for less than a year when the case landed on his desk. However, the man described as a "lean, ebullient ex-Londoner" had been 22 years with Edinburgh Police, 18 of them as a detective, and he had very clear ideas about how the investigation should proceed.
"You've got to keep basic facts in mind," said Clancy. "Maybe it sounds a bit Irish, but this woman belonged somewhere. That is the starting point.
"You can get lost in theories. Two and two can make anything you want if you care to think about it for long enough. A policeman's experience tells you this. No - we are probing facts. Realities."
To that end, the foreshore at Leith and Cramond was searched, the Union Canal dredged, extra police were drafted in to scour the Water of Leith westward of Balerno bridge and the River Almond, and railway wagons and abandoned cars were investigated - but the reality, by the end of the first month, was that little progress had been made.
Blood-stained clothing found in Dalry, a package in Slateford, a parcel of clothes found at Dunblane Station and reports of a severed hand in Aberdeenshire all proved to be red herrings.
An appeal was screened at 29 cinemas across the Lothians and police even started asking children to look out for body parts while out during the Easter break. At the end of the holidays a fresh appeal was put out to returning university students who, in the days before 24-hour news channels, may not have heard the news.
As the weeks passed, the lack of any new information led police to fear that locals were afraid of being branded "busy-bodies" for coming forward. An increasingly frustrated Clancy identified a further 20,000 households for questioning and vowed to spend the next 30 years knocking on doors. He said: "I don't care if we get only two houses a day done but the investigations must be thorough".
However, it would ultimately fall to another force to put together the last few pieces of the gruesome jigsaw.
By 16 April, 32-year-old Elizabeth Keenan from Lanark had not been seen for nearly a month. Edinburgh Police maintained that Mrs Keenan was just one of the 500-plus missing women reported to them in their hunt to identify the body parts, but their counterparts in Lanarkshire had already formed suspicions about Mrs Keenan's husband James, who didn't report her disappearance for five days and only came forward when the severed legs were found 30 miles from his home.
The breakthrough came on 2 May, 1969, when a travelling scrap metal dealer William Townsley, 35, found the torso, with arms and hands still attached, of a woman in woods on the site of a former PoW camp about a mile from Thankerton village in Lanarkshire.
Chief Superintendent William Muncie, head of Lanarkshire CID, confirmed that they were exploring the possibility that the body parts may belong to Elizabeth Keenan. The fingerprints quickly confirmed their fears and her husband was arrested.
The following day, Mrs Keenan's head was recovered one mile east of the Lanarkshire village of Carnwath and her husband James Joseph Keenan, 34, a lorry driver's mate, was led under cover of a blanket from police cells to Lanark Sheriff Court, where he was charged with Elizabeth's murder.
After 44 days of intense police inquiries it took Muncie just a few hours to break Keenan down to a confession.
Keenan told how on 19 March he had killed his wife with an axe and sawed her body into several pieces.
Working behind curtains he washed his axe and hacksaw, scrubbed the blood-stained house, parcelled up the body in separate blankets and put them in the boot of his car. Eighty miles and four stops later the head, torso and both legs were scattered throughout south-east Scotland.
For the next month and a half Keenan carried on as if nothing had happened. He concocted a story that his wife had run away to London after a row, and he continued to drink and play dominoes in the local pub.
Realising that he had to keep up the pretence of the concerned husband, he helped organise a nationwide appeal to find his wife and told friends that he hoped the body parts didn't belong to Elizabeth.
However, by the time her torso was discovered there was a large body of evidence against him.
Remnants of the blankets that were wrapped around the body parts matched another blanket produced by Mrs Keenan's mother, and police found woollen fibres that matched Keenan's clothes.
In his confession Keenan told how he killed his wife because she threatened to leave him and take their daughter away.
The couple met at a dance hall in 1955, when Elizabeth was just 15, and within two years they were married. Neighbours described them as "a couple of lovebirds" but Elizabeth had difficulty conceiving and had to have several operations to help her get pregnant. Their one and only child Veronica Jane was eventually born in early 1968.
However, by that time the relationship was turning sour and rumours abounded that James was having an affair - or was at least hoping for one - with a pretty young clerk named Ray Shankley.
Following Keenan's arrest Miss Shankley strenuously denied the gossip. She said: "There was no suggestion of having a relationship. He did write to me once. He wanted to make more of the situation and I said no."
Friends described how Keenan was known as Mr Kindness - for his efforts to win friends by offering lifts and odd-jobs around town - and Tarzan, for his love of fitness and bodybuilding.
Despite his 5'1" frame Keenan's friends also described him as "small but tremendously strong" and said his biggest ambition in life was "to be a big man".
Keenan's head barely reached above the dock when he appeared at Lanark Sheriff Court on 27 May, 1969 and pleaded guilty to murdering his wife. A week later he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Senior Advocate-Depute Ronald King Murray QC said the conviction was "brought home by very thorough and painstaking police inquiries".
The Torso Murder was the most gruesome case Edinburgh police had been involved in for decades but it would not be the last time they would be called upon to hunt for discarded body parts.
In 2003, schoolteacher Alan Wilson, 51, was hacked up by former friend Ian Sutherland and dumped in a Merchiston garden. Sutherland was convicted of murder in 2004 and is currently serving life. On Hogmanay last year the head of 44-year-old Heather Stacey was discovered on a path in Hawthornevale. A man is currently awaiting trial charged with her murder.
However, the Torso Murder of 1969 has a special place in Edinburgh lore, according to an Evening News editorial of the day, "not only because it was a particularly gruesome crime but because the subsequent investigation was a model of cooperation between different police forces, forensic experts and the public".
TIMELINE
19 March 69 Last known sighting of Elizabeth Keenan
24 March 69 Two severed legs found in Broomhall and Balerno
2 May 69 Torso of a woman found in the woods near Thankerton village in Lanarkshire. Fingerprints confirm identify it as the remains of Elizabeth Keenan. Husband James Keenan arrested
3 May 69 Mrs Keenan's head is recovered close to Carnwath in Lanarkshire. James Keenan is charged with Elizabeth's murder
10 May 69 Keenan makes second court appearance
27 May 69 James Keenan pleads guilty to killing his wife with an axe, chopping her up with a hacksaw and distributing her body throughout south east Scotland
4 June 69 Keenan is sentenced to life imprisonment
Edinburgh Evening News
15 January 2010
When the scattered parts of a woman's body were discovered around the city, Edinburgh's murder squad swung into action. In the last of our series on Lothian murders, MARK McLAUGHLIN looks at how city police tackled one of their toughest cases - the Torso Murder
In one of the most gruesome cases Edinburgh's police have faced, it came down to inter-force cooperation to finally solve the Torso Murder
BACK in the 1960s, deep in the bowels of police HQ on the High Street was a basement office with a makeshift sign reading "Murder Squad" sticky-taped to the door.
"They are too busy for the niceties of interior decoration," observed an Evening News reporter as he made his way down those "bleak tunnels" to the office manned by Edinburgh CID's major incident team. In 1969 they were indeed very busy - as those officers began one of the biggest inquiries Scotland has ever seen.
On 24 March 1969 a railway plate layer examining the track under a flyover in Broomhall found a partially stockinged leg wrapped in a brown paper parcel. Within the hour the Murder Squad, led by Detective Superintendent Ronald Clancy, was on the scene.
Nine hours later, another horrifying discovery was made. A second leg was found after a woman reported a parcel lying in the Water of Leith in Balerno.
Det Supt Clancy informed the press: "We are treating this as a murder inquiry".
Every police force in Britain was ordered to check their files for missing women. Police leave was cancelled, forensic "battle wagons" were primed, frogmen were drafted in to search the length of the Water of Leith, bricks were thrown from bridges to estimate the trajectory of hurled body parts and locals were put on alert for any more suspicious parcels.
It was one of the most curious as well as grisly cases in Scottish history and Det Supt Clancy, the man in charge of the investigation, had been head of Edinburgh CID for less than a year when the case landed on his desk. However, the man described as a "lean, ebullient ex-Londoner" had been 22 years with Edinburgh Police, 18 of them as a detective, and he had very clear ideas about how the investigation should proceed.
"You've got to keep basic facts in mind," said Clancy. "Maybe it sounds a bit Irish, but this woman belonged somewhere. That is the starting point.
"You can get lost in theories. Two and two can make anything you want if you care to think about it for long enough. A policeman's experience tells you this. No - we are probing facts. Realities."
To that end, the foreshore at Leith and Cramond was searched, the Union Canal dredged, extra police were drafted in to scour the Water of Leith westward of Balerno bridge and the River Almond, and railway wagons and abandoned cars were investigated - but the reality, by the end of the first month, was that little progress had been made.
Blood-stained clothing found in Dalry, a package in Slateford, a parcel of clothes found at Dunblane Station and reports of a severed hand in Aberdeenshire all proved to be red herrings.
An appeal was screened at 29 cinemas across the Lothians and police even started asking children to look out for body parts while out during the Easter break. At the end of the holidays a fresh appeal was put out to returning university students who, in the days before 24-hour news channels, may not have heard the news.
As the weeks passed, the lack of any new information led police to fear that locals were afraid of being branded "busy-bodies" for coming forward. An increasingly frustrated Clancy identified a further 20,000 households for questioning and vowed to spend the next 30 years knocking on doors. He said: "I don't care if we get only two houses a day done but the investigations must be thorough".
However, it would ultimately fall to another force to put together the last few pieces of the gruesome jigsaw.
By 16 April, 32-year-old Elizabeth Keenan from Lanark had not been seen for nearly a month. Edinburgh Police maintained that Mrs Keenan was just one of the 500-plus missing women reported to them in their hunt to identify the body parts, but their counterparts in Lanarkshire had already formed suspicions about Mrs Keenan's husband James, who didn't report her disappearance for five days and only came forward when the severed legs were found 30 miles from his home.
The breakthrough came on 2 May, 1969, when a travelling scrap metal dealer William Townsley, 35, found the torso, with arms and hands still attached, of a woman in woods on the site of a former PoW camp about a mile from Thankerton village in Lanarkshire.
Chief Superintendent William Muncie, head of Lanarkshire CID, confirmed that they were exploring the possibility that the body parts may belong to Elizabeth Keenan. The fingerprints quickly confirmed their fears and her husband was arrested.
The following day, Mrs Keenan's head was recovered one mile east of the Lanarkshire village of Carnwath and her husband James Joseph Keenan, 34, a lorry driver's mate, was led under cover of a blanket from police cells to Lanark Sheriff Court, where he was charged with Elizabeth's murder.
After 44 days of intense police inquiries it took Muncie just a few hours to break Keenan down to a confession.
Keenan told how on 19 March he had killed his wife with an axe and sawed her body into several pieces.
Working behind curtains he washed his axe and hacksaw, scrubbed the blood-stained house, parcelled up the body in separate blankets and put them in the boot of his car. Eighty miles and four stops later the head, torso and both legs were scattered throughout south-east Scotland.
For the next month and a half Keenan carried on as if nothing had happened. He concocted a story that his wife had run away to London after a row, and he continued to drink and play dominoes in the local pub.
Realising that he had to keep up the pretence of the concerned husband, he helped organise a nationwide appeal to find his wife and told friends that he hoped the body parts didn't belong to Elizabeth.
However, by the time her torso was discovered there was a large body of evidence against him.
Remnants of the blankets that were wrapped around the body parts matched another blanket produced by Mrs Keenan's mother, and police found woollen fibres that matched Keenan's clothes.
In his confession Keenan told how he killed his wife because she threatened to leave him and take their daughter away.
The couple met at a dance hall in 1955, when Elizabeth was just 15, and within two years they were married. Neighbours described them as "a couple of lovebirds" but Elizabeth had difficulty conceiving and had to have several operations to help her get pregnant. Their one and only child Veronica Jane was eventually born in early 1968.
However, by that time the relationship was turning sour and rumours abounded that James was having an affair - or was at least hoping for one - with a pretty young clerk named Ray Shankley.
Following Keenan's arrest Miss Shankley strenuously denied the gossip. She said: "There was no suggestion of having a relationship. He did write to me once. He wanted to make more of the situation and I said no."
Friends described how Keenan was known as Mr Kindness - for his efforts to win friends by offering lifts and odd-jobs around town - and Tarzan, for his love of fitness and bodybuilding.
Despite his 5'1" frame Keenan's friends also described him as "small but tremendously strong" and said his biggest ambition in life was "to be a big man".
Keenan's head barely reached above the dock when he appeared at Lanark Sheriff Court on 27 May, 1969 and pleaded guilty to murdering his wife. A week later he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Senior Advocate-Depute Ronald King Murray QC said the conviction was "brought home by very thorough and painstaking police inquiries".
The Torso Murder was the most gruesome case Edinburgh police had been involved in for decades but it would not be the last time they would be called upon to hunt for discarded body parts.
In 2003, schoolteacher Alan Wilson, 51, was hacked up by former friend Ian Sutherland and dumped in a Merchiston garden. Sutherland was convicted of murder in 2004 and is currently serving life. On Hogmanay last year the head of 44-year-old Heather Stacey was discovered on a path in Hawthornevale. A man is currently awaiting trial charged with her murder.
However, the Torso Murder of 1969 has a special place in Edinburgh lore, according to an Evening News editorial of the day, "not only because it was a particularly gruesome crime but because the subsequent investigation was a model of cooperation between different police forces, forensic experts and the public".
TIMELINE
19 March 69 Last known sighting of Elizabeth Keenan
24 March 69 Two severed legs found in Broomhall and Balerno
2 May 69 Torso of a woman found in the woods near Thankerton village in Lanarkshire. Fingerprints confirm identify it as the remains of Elizabeth Keenan. Husband James Keenan arrested
3 May 69 Mrs Keenan's head is recovered close to Carnwath in Lanarkshire. James Keenan is charged with Elizabeth's murder
10 May 69 Keenan makes second court appearance
27 May 69 James Keenan pleads guilty to killing his wife with an axe, chopping her up with a hacksaw and distributing her body throughout south east Scotland
4 June 69 Keenan is sentenced to life imprisonment
NEWS: Death and Deportation
By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
11 January 2010
THE Edinburgh family of an Indian man have yet to hear whether he will be deported to India in connection with an investigation into a murder two years ago.
As reported in the Evening News, a senior Indian police officer has indicated that they wish to question Pawan Bhardwaj again in connection with the death of Michael Blakey, 23, who was killed while working for Edinburgh-based charity Tong-Len in Dharamsala in November 2006.
Dharamsala Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dinesh Sharma, said: "We have approached Scotland Yard to deport Indian Pawan Bhardwaj to India so that he could be re-examined."
Mr Bhardwaj now lives in Edinburgh with wife Rachel Owen and their three children. He had previously been questioned and released by Indian police.
However, Mr Bhardwaj's mother-in-law, Tong-Len founder Anna Owen, said the family had yet to receive any official notice of the request for deportation and reaffirmed their belief in his total innocence. Mrs Owen, of Corstorphine, said: "I was not aware of this request and had heard nothing more about the investigation since the inquest last July.
"I have no doubts whatsoever as to Pawan's innocence. He co-operated fully with the police in India at several stages during the investigation. The family returned to India in October 2007 and only returned to the UK in June 2008 for the birth of their third baby.
"It was planned for them to return to the UK some months earlier, but Pawan himself insisted on staying in order to be available to help the police when the investigation was reopened in early 2008. No evidence has ever been found to link him to Michael's death."
Two post-mortem reports - one conducted in India and the second in Britain - found Mr Blakey died from extensive head injuries and strangulation.
One theory was that the devout Christian was murdered by a thief who robbed him of his mobile phone and credit cards. The phone was later found at a shop in Ludhiana, about 100 miles south of Dharamsala. The shopkeeper was questioned and released and police started looking for the man who sold him the phone.
The investigation into Mr Blakey's killing was reopened last July after UK police asked colleagues in India for help.
Although the family have received no official notification of the extradition request, Mr Bhardwaj would not necessarily be informed of the request in advance of an extradition warrant being executed. A spokeswoman for the Home Office said they cannot comment on, nor can they confirm or deny, any extradition request they receive from abroad.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police, which executes all extradition requests made by countries outside of the EU, said they have yet to receive an official approach regarding Mr Bhardwaj. She added: "Our extradition unit have no knowledge of this request and no warrant has been issued at this time."
Edinburgh Evening News
11 January 2010
THE Edinburgh family of an Indian man have yet to hear whether he will be deported to India in connection with an investigation into a murder two years ago.
As reported in the Evening News, a senior Indian police officer has indicated that they wish to question Pawan Bhardwaj again in connection with the death of Michael Blakey, 23, who was killed while working for Edinburgh-based charity Tong-Len in Dharamsala in November 2006.
Dharamsala Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dinesh Sharma, said: "We have approached Scotland Yard to deport Indian Pawan Bhardwaj to India so that he could be re-examined."
Mr Bhardwaj now lives in Edinburgh with wife Rachel Owen and their three children. He had previously been questioned and released by Indian police.
However, Mr Bhardwaj's mother-in-law, Tong-Len founder Anna Owen, said the family had yet to receive any official notice of the request for deportation and reaffirmed their belief in his total innocence. Mrs Owen, of Corstorphine, said: "I was not aware of this request and had heard nothing more about the investigation since the inquest last July.
"I have no doubts whatsoever as to Pawan's innocence. He co-operated fully with the police in India at several stages during the investigation. The family returned to India in October 2007 and only returned to the UK in June 2008 for the birth of their third baby.
"It was planned for them to return to the UK some months earlier, but Pawan himself insisted on staying in order to be available to help the police when the investigation was reopened in early 2008. No evidence has ever been found to link him to Michael's death."
Two post-mortem reports - one conducted in India and the second in Britain - found Mr Blakey died from extensive head injuries and strangulation.
One theory was that the devout Christian was murdered by a thief who robbed him of his mobile phone and credit cards. The phone was later found at a shop in Ludhiana, about 100 miles south of Dharamsala. The shopkeeper was questioned and released and police started looking for the man who sold him the phone.
The investigation into Mr Blakey's killing was reopened last July after UK police asked colleagues in India for help.
Although the family have received no official notification of the extradition request, Mr Bhardwaj would not necessarily be informed of the request in advance of an extradition warrant being executed. A spokeswoman for the Home Office said they cannot comment on, nor can they confirm or deny, any extradition request they receive from abroad.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police, which executes all extradition requests made by countries outside of the EU, said they have yet to receive an official approach regarding Mr Bhardwaj. She added: "Our extradition unit have no knowledge of this request and no warrant has been issued at this time."
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
15 December 2009
A FATHER whose conviction for raping a schoolgirl in Edinburgh has been quashed by appeal judges today told how the stigma of being branded a "paedophile" has ruined his life.
Desmond Uttley, 35, of Wester Hailes, was last week declared a victim of a miscarriage of justice over the 2002 conviction which saw him sentenced to six years in prison.
Judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh allowed his challenge against his conviction after accepting fresh DNA evidence.
Speaking for the first time since the verdict, Mr Uttley told the Evening News: "I don't know what to say. I'm happy it's over but I'm obviously angry because I've lost a lot. I am now divorced because of it, and I haven't seen my son since 2002."
The former barber was jailed in November 2002 after he was found guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl at his then home in Lochend Gardens.
The court heard he had gone to her aid after finding her drunk in the street.
Mr Uttley, who always protested his innocence, today told how the accusation ended his marriage and how he fears his son may not want to know him.
He married in 2000, and their son was born the following year.
He said: "My wife believed me right up until it went to court, and when I was found guilty she was put under a lot of pressure to cut her ties with me.
"I don't even know if she's aware that I've won the appeal. I haven't seen her since 2004.
"We had a pretty happy life together. We had our ups and downs, like most marriages.
"I don't even know if my son knows anything about me. He was only one year old when I went to prison, so I don't know what his mum has told him.
"Now that I'm free I'm going to try to sort out some kind of access, but I'm afraid that he may not want to see me."
Mr Uttley was freed in 2004 pending an appeal but had spent time in Saughton, Peterhead and Dumfries prisons before his conviction was finally overturned.
He said: "For the first year in prison I was in shock. I put lots of weight on because I didn't want to work, I didn't want to exercise, I just wanted to stay in my cell and muse on everything I had lost.
"The first year was a very dark time, but after that I started working as a prison barber. I'd maybe like to do something like that now that I'm out, but it's hard to find work. Who is going to employ someone who has been sent to jail for being a paedophile?
"My lawyers have done me proud and I now want everyone to know that I am, and have always been, innocent. I just want to start putting my life back together.
"I've been classed as a bad person for so long that it's hard to adjust to being seen as a good person again."
Mr Uttley's trial heard how he invited the girl and her 14-year-old male friend back to his house to dry off, and put the girl to bed where she fell asleep.
The girl claimed she woke to find Mr Uttley having sex with her, despite providing two conflicting descriptions of her alleged assailant – neither of which matched him.
Appeal judges heard a later DNA analysis of swabs taken from the girl at the time of the alleged rape found samples from three male sources – none of which belonged to Mr Uttley.
Mr Uttley said he had been advised not to discuss details of the day of the alleged rape until the prosecution has signalled its intention to accept the appeal or go for a retrial.
A Crown Office spokeswoman said: "We note the decision of the court which is being carefully considered by Crown Counsel."
Edinburgh Evening News
15 December 2009
A FATHER whose conviction for raping a schoolgirl in Edinburgh has been quashed by appeal judges today told how the stigma of being branded a "paedophile" has ruined his life.
Desmond Uttley, 35, of Wester Hailes, was last week declared a victim of a miscarriage of justice over the 2002 conviction which saw him sentenced to six years in prison.
Judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh allowed his challenge against his conviction after accepting fresh DNA evidence.
Speaking for the first time since the verdict, Mr Uttley told the Evening News: "I don't know what to say. I'm happy it's over but I'm obviously angry because I've lost a lot. I am now divorced because of it, and I haven't seen my son since 2002."
The former barber was jailed in November 2002 after he was found guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl at his then home in Lochend Gardens.
The court heard he had gone to her aid after finding her drunk in the street.
Mr Uttley, who always protested his innocence, today told how the accusation ended his marriage and how he fears his son may not want to know him.
He married in 2000, and their son was born the following year.
He said: "My wife believed me right up until it went to court, and when I was found guilty she was put under a lot of pressure to cut her ties with me.
"I don't even know if she's aware that I've won the appeal. I haven't seen her since 2004.
"We had a pretty happy life together. We had our ups and downs, like most marriages.
"I don't even know if my son knows anything about me. He was only one year old when I went to prison, so I don't know what his mum has told him.
"Now that I'm free I'm going to try to sort out some kind of access, but I'm afraid that he may not want to see me."
Mr Uttley was freed in 2004 pending an appeal but had spent time in Saughton, Peterhead and Dumfries prisons before his conviction was finally overturned.
He said: "For the first year in prison I was in shock. I put lots of weight on because I didn't want to work, I didn't want to exercise, I just wanted to stay in my cell and muse on everything I had lost.
"The first year was a very dark time, but after that I started working as a prison barber. I'd maybe like to do something like that now that I'm out, but it's hard to find work. Who is going to employ someone who has been sent to jail for being a paedophile?
"My lawyers have done me proud and I now want everyone to know that I am, and have always been, innocent. I just want to start putting my life back together.
"I've been classed as a bad person for so long that it's hard to adjust to being seen as a good person again."
Mr Uttley's trial heard how he invited the girl and her 14-year-old male friend back to his house to dry off, and put the girl to bed where she fell asleep.
The girl claimed she woke to find Mr Uttley having sex with her, despite providing two conflicting descriptions of her alleged assailant – neither of which matched him.
Appeal judges heard a later DNA analysis of swabs taken from the girl at the time of the alleged rape found samples from three male sources – none of which belonged to Mr Uttley.
Mr Uttley said he had been advised not to discuss details of the day of the alleged rape until the prosecution has signalled its intention to accept the appeal or go for a retrial.
A Crown Office spokeswoman said: "We note the decision of the court which is being carefully considered by Crown Counsel."
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