COURT ROUND-UP: Fake actress conwoman and wheelchair-bound pensioner bloodied in last week’s Inverness court business
The Inverness Courier has reported a wide range of court activity in the first week of October.
Here's our recap of some of the cases that made the headlines last week.
A paedophile who said the child he repeatedly raped initiated sex with him has been jailed for 10 years.
Fraser Murray (33) made the “troubling” claim in recent weeks to social workers tasked by a high court judge to investigate Murray’s background.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Murray spoke of his belief about the child’s role after he had been convicted last month of rape, sexual assault and voyeurism.
Judge Lord Fairley heard how Murray, of Croy, between Inverness and Nairn, preyed on his 10-year-old victim at locations in his home town and a village on the Black Isle. The offences took place between October 2018 and October 2022.
Police who rushed to the home of a wheelchair-bound pensioner after neighbours reported her son was beating her up saw him appear to strike the 78-year-old and restrict her breathing.
The High Court in Inverness heard that an officer banged on the window of the Smithton Villas property to demand entry and was let in by 52-year-old Bruce Davis - the man he said was attacking the frail disabled woman.
His bruised and bloodied mother, Thomasina McAskill, who has died since the January 1, 2023 alleged incident, then told police who arrested Davis that her son hit her and broke furniture.
READ MORE: Inverness man denies trying to kill his own wheelchair-bound mother
A woman who conned her family in a fake Hollywood actress scam told a sheriff that she lied to him about having cash to pay back.
Heather Dunlop (40), previously claimed that she had £14,200 in a bank account which she would send to her victims.
READ MORE: Highland links as fake actress conwoman lied to sheriff about having cash to pay back victims
A 78-year-old woman was strangled by her son in a frenzied attack at her home in Smithton on New Year's Day last year, it has been alleged.
In the dock at the High Court in Inverness is 52-year-old Bruce Davis who has been accused of attempting to murder Thomasina McAskill in Smithton Villas.
He will face a jury trial which is likely to last at least three days.
