Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Law killer Robbie McIntosh guilty of Templeton Woods attempted murder

Robbie McIntosh leaving Dundee Sheriff Court earlier this year.
Robbie McIntosh leaving Dundee Sheriff Court earlier this year.

Law killer Robbie McIntosh tried to kill a Dundee grandmother as she walked her dog, just five days after he was released from prison for his earlier heinous crime.

McIntosh, who received a life sentence in 2002 for the brutal murder of Anne Nicoll – committed when he was just 15 – will likely spend the rest of his life in jail after today admitting brutally assaulting brave Linda McDonald in Templeton Woods in August.

Mrs McDonald fended off “expressionless” McIntosh, who attacked her from behind, striking her over the head repeatedly with a dumbell he kept in the bedroom of his mother’s house.

Despite already being responsible for one of the most violent unprovoked murders the city has ever experienced, McIntosh had been allowed out once a month to his mother’s house in Bridgefoot, prior to his parole hearing.

Edinburgh High Court was told Mrs McDonald was walking her dog through Templeton Woods, when she noticed an “expressionless” McIntosh coming towards her “at pace”, carrying a rucksack.

She gave him a half-smile to acknowledge him as he passed but his footsteps suddenly halted, before she heard him running back towards her.

McIntosh raised his dumbbell above his head and Mrs McDonald put out her hands to try to stop his attack.

He brought the weighted end of the dumbbell down on her head, stunning the victim.

Police officers searching for evidence in Templeton Woods.

Mrs McDonald is said to have screamed for help throughout McIntosh’s sick attack and defended herself throughout with her hands trying to cover her face.

As well as receiving multiple fractures to her skull and cuts across her head, Mrs McDonald broke her thumb trying to stave off McIntosh’s blows.

She remained conscious throughout the ordeal.

The court was told her screams were heard by dog walkers Peter and Charles Connor, who came running to her aid.

When they arrived, Charles Connor found Mrs McDonald on her side, on the ground and clearly injured.

Her top had been lifted, exposing her upper body and Mr Connor immediately covered her with his jacket while brother Peter rang 999. He informed call handlers a woman had been attacked in Templeton Woods, before the battery in his phone went flat.

Peter Connor then ran towards two other women who were walking in the woods to borrow their phone to complete the call.

The ambulance and police arrived four minutes after the call was made. Throughout her treatment, Mrs McDonald asked for her husband, as she wanted to see him “before she died”.

Mrs McDonald later recognised McIntosh through a VIPER police identification procedure.

 

“No concerns about his mental state”

Advocate depute Iain McSporran QC read the narratives of the August 7 attack and — due to the “similarities” of the cases —  also what happened on the day McIntosh murdered Anne Nicoll in August 2001.

Mr McSporran said: “At the time of the offence McIntosh was on home leave and was being considered for parole.

“He was granted leave to his mother’s house for one week every four weeks.

“He was examined and there were no concerns about his mental state.

“It was anticipated he would be released on parole on August 9.

“He was examined by psychiatrists and there was no evidence of a mental disorder.”

 

Victim still suffering after attack

The court was told doctors at Ninewells were able to save Mrs McDonald’s thumb and identified a number of skull fractures, which did not require surgery.

Since the attack, Mrs McDonald had struggled to sleep, was suffering anxiety and was scared to go out in public, all of which was affecting her everyday life.

She has been unable to return to work, but most worrying for the brave woman, she worries about the affect her ordeal has had on her family.

 

“One of the worst cases”

McIntosh, of Rowanplace, Bridgefoot, pleaded guilty to attempting to murder Linda McDonald on August 7 at Templeton Woods. He also pleaded guilty to trying to destroy evidence of his crime by washing the clothes he was wearing when he carried out his assault.

Lord Arthurstone deferred sentence until November 29 at Glasgow High Court.

He told McIntosh as he was led back to prison: “This is one of the worst cases of violence I have ever had to deal with.”

A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said: “While we cannot comment on individual circumstances, we can confirm that no member of our prison-based social work teams has worked in the same facility where a close relative was serving a sentence.”

 

Killer was released on anniversary of his murder

McIntosh’s release date from Castle Huntly open prison, August 2 2017, was the anniversary of Ms Nicoll’s murder.

His mother, a social worker for Perth and Kinross Council – whose remit covers criminal, social work and justice services for inmates at HMP Perth and Castle Huntly open prison – spoke to McIntosh the morning of his brutal attempt to murder Mrs McDonald.

 

Call for urgent review of decision to release killer

Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said McIntosh should not have been eligible for release from prison.

He said: “If ever there were a case outlining the need for whole life sentences, this is it.

“This is an individual who killed a woman without remorse, but was set free 15 years later.

“If he’d been jailed for life – no ifs, no buts – he wouldn’t have been in a position to carry out this subsequent attack.

“The Scottish Government has to review this as a matter of urgency.”

The Scottish Prison Service has said it does not comment on individual cases but that “a rigorous risk assessment is undertaken prior to any offender being granted home leave.”

 

For more on the case and reaction, see Thursday’s Courier