Angus killer Tasmin Glass is set to be considered for release just five years after being jailed for killing her ex-boyfriend Steven Donaldson.
She was jailed for 10 years in 2019 for her part in the murder of the 27-year-old Arbroath oil worker in Kirriemuir.
Glass, who had previously been in a relationship with Mr Donaldson and gave birth to his baby after his death, was convicted of culpable homicide.
Two men – Callum Davidson and Steven Dickie – were convicted of murder.
Steven Donaldson’s family consulted over possible Tasmin Glass release
The Courier can now reveal that Mr Donaldson’s family have been notified about Glass’s eligibility for parole in May this year.
They have been consulted over whether she should be released halfway through her sentence, ahead of a potential hearing taking place in the coming months.
In a statement to The Courier, Mr Donaldson’s family said: “We were contacted by the Victim Notification Scheme towards the end of last year and informed that Glass is eligible for parole as early as the spring of this year.
“We were given until January 5 to submit our position on this.
“We have responded, objecting in the strongest possible terms to any bid to free her at this stage in her sentence.
“We do not believe she should be granted parole given the significance of the crime she committed and the impact it has had on us as a family and on the wider community.”
‘We are disgusted Tasmin Glass will be eligible for parole’
The statement added: “We are disgusted she will be eligible for parole and we have made our feelings known in our response.
“We said last year that we felt the fact that she was getting day release was completely disrespectful to Steven and his family, and suggests that his life was not valued.
“That remains our position. The severity of the crime is such that we do not believe that anyone who is convicted of such a crime can be within our community after such a short time.”
Glass played ‘pivotal role’ in Steven Donaldson killing
Glass, who was 20 at the time of the murder, was spotted by members of the public at Craigtoun Country Park in Fife last June, while out on day release.
Mr Donaldson’s battered and burned body was discovered next to his burnt-out BMW at Loch of Kinnordy Nature Reserve, near Kirriemuir, on the morning of June 7 2018.
Glass’s co-accused, friends Dickie and Davidson, were given life sentences with minimum terms of 23 and 24 years respectively for the “savage and depraved” brutality that ended his life.
The men assaulted Mr Donaldson at Kirriemuir’s Peter Pan playpark before driving him to Kinnordy Nature Reserve and killing him with a bladed weapon.
Glass was found to have helped plan and instigate the attack.
A month after being found guilty, she appealed her conviction and sentence.
That freedom bid failed, with appeal judges saying she had played a “pivotal role” in the death, which justified “manipulative and devious” Glass’s sentence.
The rejection of Glass’s bid for freedom came on the day Dickie was found dead in his prison cell.
When contacted about Glass’s parole bid, a Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on individuals.”
How does parole work?
Under Scottish law, anyone sentenced to four or more years in prison is entitled to be considered for parole once they are halfway through their sentence.
Offenders do not apply for parole – instead, cases are referred to the parole board at the appropriate stage of the sentence.
However, someone serving a long-term sentence can opt out of the parole system and turn down a review of their case.
If early release is refused, the board will reconsider an offender’s case yearly.
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