Inverness man denies trying to kill his own wheelchair-bound mother
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.
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Davis denies attempting to murder her by repeatedly kicking her on the body, seizing her by the hair, restraining her, throwing household furniture at her, pulling her jumper over her head and strangling her, then repeatedly punching her, all to her severe injury, and permanent impairment to the danger of her life.
Davis, who is on remand at Saughton Prison in Edinburgh, faces a second charge of threatening or abusive behaviour in that he shouted, swore, acted aggressively and in a disorderly fashion and damaged household furniture.
Jordan Mclean, who lived two doors down from Ms McAskill, said the old lady was always seen in a wheelchair.
The 33-year-old added that when he left his house to collect a power tool from his mother's car, he heard a scream: "It sounded like a child - a scream you would be concerned about. I looked in the window and saw Bruce sitting on the sofa. The wheelchair was empty and he was throwing his hands to the ground like punching and striking. I shouted to my friend who lived next door that Bruce could be beating his mother.
"To begin with, I was not sure if he was beating her or trying to help her up," he told defence counsel Graeme Brown.
Neighbour William Leaver went to the window as well. He said: "Bruce was shouting aggressively, saying 'shut up', 'f****** get up'.
“He had clenched fists coming down, I couldn't see if he was striking someone or something.
"I could only see the old lady's legs and feet on the floor. He must have been hitting her on the head, possibly."
PC Lee Soley was one officer who was dispatched to the scene, and was questioned by advocate depute Shahid Latif.
He said he could hear shouting and looked in the window to see Davis had his mother in a head lock. "She seemed to be trying to get out of it, pulling at his arms,” he said. “She appeared not to be happy, struggling to breathe.
"I banged on the window and he let go. He looked at the window and I told him to come to the door. He did and let us in. There was broken furniture in the living room, legs broken off a table.
"The old lady had injuries, blood to her mouth, swelling and bruising to her eye and jaw. Bruce Davis appeared very intoxicated. He had blood on both of his hands.
"He was arrested and initially was compliant, but then became aggressive, then tearful and aggressive again, shouting and swearing at us.
"I asked her how she got the injuries. She said 'he hit me' and pointed to Davis. I asked her about the broken furniture and who did it? She said pointing at Davis: 'Him. He hit me.'“
Asked by Mr Brown how she presented, the constable said: "It was quite possible she was under the influence of alcohol."
He rejected Mr Brown's assertion that his client had his arms wrapped around his mother and was attempting to kiss her.
The trial had earlier been told Ms McAskill suffered a broken leg, fractured ribs and a broken jaw as well as multiple bruising all over her body.
The jury trial, presided over by Lord Summers, is expected to finish on Wednesday or Thursday. It was adjourned until Tuesday due to the judge being unavailable tomorrow and a court holiday on Monday.
