Appeal Against Sentence By Sandra Elizabeth Fraser Or Anderson Or Bruce Against Her Majesty's Advocate
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judge | Lady Clark Of Calton,Lady Paton,Lord Justice General |
| Neutral Citation | [2016] HCJAC 25 |
| Year | 2016 |
| Date | 04 March 2016 |
| Published date | 24 March 2016 |
| Docket Number | HCA/2015 |
| Court | High Court of Justiciary |
APPEAL COURT, HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY
[2016] HCJAC 25
HCA/2015/3345/XC
Lord Justice General
Lady Paton
Lady Clark of Calton
OPINION OF THE COURT
delivered by LORD CARLOWAY, the LORD JUSTICE GENERAL
in
APPEAL AGAINST SENTENCE
by
SANDRA ELIZABETH FRASER or ANDERSON or BRUCE
Appellant;
against
HER MAJESTY’S ADVOCATE
Respondent:
Appellant: McConnachie QC; Paterson Bell (for Tods Mitchell, Paisley)
Respondent: Erroch AD; the Crown Agent
4 March 2016
Introduction
[1] On 19 June 2015, in the High Court at Glasgow, the appellant was convicted of a charge, which libelled that:
“(3) on 8 and 9 February 2014 ... [on the] Isle of Skye, you ... did assault Norman ... Bruce ... and did repeatedly scratch him on the head and body with your finger nails, repeatedly kick, stamp and jump on his head and body, inflict blunt force injuries to his head and body by means to the prosecutor unknown and you did murder him.”
The evidence
[2] The appellant and the deceased had been together for over 20 years, and married in 2010. They were in the habit of drinking heavily, although both had been employed locally. The state of their house, after the discovery of the body, was described by those attending as squalid. There was a history of some domestic violence directed towards both the appellant and the deceased by each other.
[3] On Saturday 8 February 2014, the couple had spent most of the day drinking in bed. The appellant’s evidence was that, at some stage during the night, she had been aware that the deceased had got up to go to the toilet. Her next recollection was of waking up on the Sunday morning to find him on the floor, by the bed, not responding, and cold to the touch. Exactly what occurred during the course of the night remains unknown. However, the pathology revealed that the deceased had sustained numerous injuries to the face, scalp, neck, arms and trunk. Bruising to the arms indicated defensive action. The deceased had sustained 20 fractures of the rib cage and neck, consistent with blunt force trauma caused by kicking and stamping. The injuries were said to be equivalent to those occurring in a road traffic accident or a fall from a considerable height. Death would have occurred within one hour of the injuries, and would have involved considerable pain. The deceased had sustained scratching to his upper torso, apparently caused by fingernails being dragged across the body when it was in a prone and motionless state. The degree of scratching gave the impression of flayed flesh. The scratches had been inflicted at, or shortly after, the time of death.
[4] The appellant called the emergency services on the Sunday morning. When they arrived, she was in a state of distress and continued intoxication. In due course she accepted responsibility for the death of her husband. The trial consisted of a dispute as to whether that death had been as a result of a murder or culpable homicide.
Sentencing judge’s report
[5] The trial judge did not call for a Criminal Justice Social Work Report but one has been obtained in the course of the appeal process.
[6] In fixing the punishment part, the judge said that he had regard to the fact that the appellant had no criminal history. He had regard to: her employment record; her age, which was 61 years at the time; and the fact that, as a result of her actions, she had lost her husband. On the other hand, he noted that she had been convicted of a murderous assault, by repeated kicking, stamping and jumping on the victim’s head and body, in circumstances where he...
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