A woman cleared of the killing of her lover’s sister has been ordered to stay in her home every night until October by a sheriff.
Angela Newlands was placed on an eight-month curfew – from 7pm to 7am daily – after she admitted failing to carry out a social work order.
Newlands, who was cleared of killing Annalise Johnstone, claimed she failed to complete the order after being forced to flee her home in the wake of the murder trial.
She was also placed under social work supervision for a year at Perth Sheriff Court yesterday for breaching the order imposed last September.
Newlands had originally been ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work in the community in September when she admitted trying to hide her identity by giving police a false ID.
She was also banned from driving for 11 months and placed under social work supervision for nine months after she admitted a series of offences.
Newlands tried to pin the blame on her own sister when she was caught driving the wrong way on a one-way street while she was already banned.
She pretended to be her sister Danielle and told officers they were often mistaken for each other because they looked very similar.
The officer recognised Newlands, 29, and was aware that she and her boyfriend Jordan Johnstone had been charged with the murder of Annalise, 22, in May 2018.
Annalise’s body was found dumped beside a back road between Dunning and Auchterarder. Prosecutors said her throat had been cut at the nearby Maggie Wall witch monument.
Newlands was cleared of the murder in May last year after a judge at the High Court ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict her of the crime.
Johnstone – who admitted carrying his dead sister’s body for two miles and dumping her by a roadside – was also cleared of murder after the jury returned a not-proven verdict.
Johnstone blamed Newlands for the killing and told the jury she had blackmailed him into covering it up.
Solicitor John McLaughlin said his client had struggled to complete the order because of the hostility she faced after the murder case. He said: “You will be aware of the background of the trial she underwent. There were a number of threats to her and her sister.
“Her reaction to that was to escape, but that has added to the problem. She has had great difficulty finding accommodation, and has been moving from place to place.”
Sheriff Gillian Wade told Newlands, of North Street, Forfar, there were “positives” in a social work report and she would be given another chance.
Late last year, police confirmed a new search had been carried out near the monument as part of a continuing investigation into the killing.
