Latest news with #GlasgowHighCourt
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Woman flashes obscene gesture as mob forces accused baby killer out of her home
Nicole Blain is set to appear in court next year after she was alleged to have killed her baby daughter by shaking just three weeks after she was born at a flat in Greenock, Inverclyde A woman was seen making an obscene gesture towards a baying mob as an accused baby killer was forced to leave her home. Police have charged Nicole Blain, 29, over the death of three-week-old Thea June Wilson at a property in Greenock, in Inverclyde Scotland, on July 14 2023. Prosecutors have alleged she shook the child and inflicted blunt force trauma by unknown means before her death. She denies the charges, and is set to appear before the court in a trial scheduled for April 2026, but the case has already caught significant local attention, with police called to her home after a baying mob materialised outside her flat. Footage obtained by the Daily Record outside of the flat in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, shows officers guarding the property as people gather outside, with shouts of "get her out" as the crowd grew. Other chants of "get her into the back of the van" and "you are lucky that the cops are here" could be heard as two women emerged from the home. In response, one of the pair could be seen flipping up their middle finger at the crowd as the they were bundled into the back of a police van. The curbside protest followed a local social media campaign in which residents of Johnstone have called for "support" to remove her from the area. Videos showing her being moved from the home have been hailed by supporters of the fervent campaign, which has built up across multiple social media accounts, mainly on Facebook. A spokesperson for Police Scotland said however that the crowd dispersed a short time after officers arrived to collect Blain. A spokesperson for the service said: "Around 7.25pm on Monday, 9 June, 2025, we received a report of a crowd gathered outside a property in Floorsburn Crescent, Johnstone. "Officers attended and the crowd dispersed a short time later." Blain's legal team has pleaded not guilty on her behalf following an initial hearing at Glasgow High Court on May 8, with a special defence of incrimination lodged as the defence and prosecution agreed to said they were prepared for a trial. The case, when it comes before the court next year, is expected to last around six days, and several "professional witnesses" are set to be allowed to provide evidence remotely. A fundraiser was launched in the wake of baby Thea's death in a bid to raise roughly £1,200 for the three-week-old's funeral costs. But the page has since been suspended, with donations no longer allowed.
Scottish Sun
16-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Troubled Scots dad set his house on fire with son inside claiming ‘devil told him to'
It cost the housing association nearly 100k to fix the damage BLAZE HORROR Troubled Scots dad set his house on fire with son inside claiming 'devil told him to' A DAD who set his house on fire while his teenage son was inside claimed the devil told him to do it. Alexander Reape, 43, caused more than £91,000 of damage at the property in Livingston, West Lothian, on December 19, 2023. 2 Alexander Reape pleaded guilty to wilful fire raising at Glasgow High Court Credit: Andrew Barr He set fire to several rooms and later had to be pulled from the property by 18-year-old Alexander junior and their two neighbours. Reape, of nearby Bathgate, initially faced a charge of attempted murder towards his son. However, he pleaded guilty yesterday at the High Court in Glasgow to wilfully fire raising to the danger of life. The court heard that Reape has a history of poor mental health and he failed to be admitted to hospital for his issues on the day of the fire which made him 'angry.' He told a psychiatrist: 'The devil's voice is telling me to kill my family.' Later that day, Reape and his son were alone in the property when the boy saw smoke coming from the crack in his bedroom door. Prosecutor Vish Kathuria said: 'He noticed black smoke coming from the top of the stairs and his father who was holding a disposable lighter.' The boy also seen smoke coming from other bedrooms in the property. Mr Kathuria added: 'It appears Reape set fire to bedding in each bedroom.' The teenager made efforts to grab his dad to get him outside but he resisted. Dad of Brit Bella Culley, who's being held in Georgia after vanishing on Thai hols, shares his fears Reape was eventually dragged out but returned to the property where he as noted to set alight a jacket and a set of blinds. The teenager and two neighbours forced entry and pulled Reape from the house again. Reape was placed under arrest and told officers: 'The devil's voice told me to do it.' The teenager meantime was stated to be crying hysterically and was covered in smoke. 2 Alexander Reape at the High Court in Glasgow where he pled guilty to setting fire to the house in Livingston Credit: Spindrift Reape was assessed again by a psychiatrist who deemed that he was 'aware of his actions and consequences and would receive prison time.' The bill for the damage - footed by a housing association - was £91,368 which took 10 months to repair. Jonathan Crowe, defending, told the court: 'He was having problems with his mental health. "He sought help and he did not receive it. 'He is under no illusions that what he pleaded guilty to will attract custody and he is extremely anxious.' Sentence was deferred pending background reports until next month by Judge Tom Hughes who granted Reape bail meantime.
The Independent
11-02-2025
- The Independent
Judge orders ‘evil Jesus' who plotted to kill lawyer to be moved to secure unit
A judge has ordered that a man who plotted to kill a prosecutor while claiming to be suffering from delusions that he was 'evil Jesus' be moved to a medium secure mental health unit ahead of his sentencing in May. Martin Ready, 42, was found guilty of attempting to conspire to murder Darren Harty by using cryptocurrency to pay for a hitman on the dark web following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow last year. Between May 2021 and September 2022, Ready paid £5,071.24 in Bitcoin and sent instructions for Mr Harty to be shot on a dark website called Online Killers Market, which turned out to be fraudulent. During the trial, Ready told the court he had suffered from delusions that he was 'evil Jesus' and believed the murder of Mr Harty would expose organised crime in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, where Mr Harty's family owned a pub. The men knew each other from the pub, but the court heard they had not seen each other for years before the plot. Ready denied the charge and lodged a special defence of lacking criminal responsibility, but was convicted and remanded in custody at HMP Barlinnie. On Tuesday at the High Court in Kilmarnock, judge Lady Hood issued an interim compulsion order requiring Ready to be moved to the Rowanbank Clinic medium secure unit in Glasgow ahead of his sentencing. This order had been delayed for some weeks due to a lack of a bed at the unit but, at Tuesday's hearing, Ready's lawyer Brian McConnachie KC confirmed a bed at the clinic was now available. 'As a result of the last hearing it has now been indicated that there is now a bed available at Rowanbank, and your ladyship is now in a position to make an interim compulsion order,' he told the court. He added that the order would last for a period of 12 weeks, and that Ready would therefore be in a position to be sentenced on May 5 2025. Lady Hood said: 'Mr Ready, on August 29 2025 at the High Court in Glasgow you were found guilty by a jury of a charge of attempted conspiracy to murder.' She told him she was 'satisfied' on the basis of medical reports that he was mentally ill. 'Reports have been prepared by two psychiatrists,' she said. 'They are both of the opinion that you suffer a mental disorder, namely delusional disorder.' She told him that his case had been continued 'in order to ascertain that place is available in a suitable hospital, which would be able to accept you in the timescale set out in legislation'. She added: 'The court has now received confirmation that a place is now available for you and is being held for you at Rowanbank Clinic.' Lady Hood said: 'Having considered all of the circumstances involved and the nature of the offence, I am satisfied it is appropriate to make an interim compulsion order.' The order, she explained, will 'authorise' his admittance to, and treatment at, Rowanbank Clinic, until the case calls again at Glasgow High Court on May 5 2025. Ready attended the hearing remotely over video link from Barlinnie prison, dressed in a blue polo shirt and jeans and with his hair cropped short. He showed no reaction as the order was handed down.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Yahoo
Judge orders ‘evil Jesus' who plotted to kill lawyer to be moved to secure unit
A judge has ordered that a man who plotted to kill a prosecutor while claiming to be suffering from delusions that he was 'evil Jesus' be moved to a medium secure mental health unit ahead of his sentencing in May. Martin Ready, 42, was found guilty of attempting to conspire to murder Darren Harty by using cryptocurrency to pay for a hitman on the dark web following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow last year. Between May 2021 and September 2022, Ready paid £5,071.24 in Bitcoin and sent instructions for Mr Harty to be shot on a dark website called Online Killers Market, which turned out to be fraudulent. During the trial, Ready told the court he had suffered from delusions that he was 'evil Jesus' and believed the murder of Mr Harty would expose organised crime in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, where Mr Harty's family owned a pub. The men knew each other from the pub, but the court heard they had not seen each other for years before the plot. Ready denied the charge and lodged a special defence of lacking criminal responsibility, but was convicted and remanded in custody at HMP Barlinnie. On Tuesday at the High Court in Kilmarnock, judge Lady Hood issued an interim compulsion order requiring Ready to be moved to the Rowanbank Clinic medium secure unit in Glasgow ahead of his sentencing. This order had been delayed for some weeks due to a lack of a bed at the unit but, at Tuesday's hearing, Ready's lawyer Brian McConnachie KC confirmed a bed at the clinic was now available. 'As a result of the last hearing it has now been indicated that there is now a bed available at Rowanbank, and your ladyship is now in a position to make an interim compulsion order,' he told the court. He added that the order would last for a period of 12 weeks, and that Ready would therefore be in a position to be sentenced on May 5 2025. Lady Hood said: 'Mr Ready, on August 29 2025 at the High Court in Glasgow you were found guilty by a jury of a charge of attempted conspiracy to murder.' She told him she was 'satisfied' on the basis of medical reports that he was mentally ill. 'Reports have been prepared by two psychiatrists,' she said. 'They are both of the opinion that you suffer a mental disorder, namely delusional disorder.' She told him that his case had been continued 'in order to ascertain that place is available in a suitable hospital, which would be able to accept you in the timescale set out in legislation'. She added: 'The court has now received confirmation that a place is now available for you and is being held for you at Rowanbank Clinic.' Lady Hood said: 'Having considered all of the circumstances involved and the nature of the offence, I am satisfied it is appropriate to make an interim compulsion order.' The order, she explained, will 'authorise' his admittance to, and treatment at, Rowanbank Clinic, until the case calls again at Glasgow High Court on May 5 2025. Ready attended the hearing remotely over video link from Barlinnie prison, dressed in a blue polo shirt and jeans and with his hair cropped short. He showed no reaction as the order was handed down. Ready is due to be sentenced at Glasgow High Court on May 5 2025.
