Copfs

Solicitor General Ruth Charteris KC is urging professionals to share advice on safer sleeping for babies. This follows a review of deaths of babies reported over the last two years. In 2024, the Crown Office received reports of 65 deaths of babies. Of those, it has been identified that 15 babies die

A man who raped a vulnerable teenage girl in his vehicle after offering her a lift home has been jailed. Victor Popa, 35, attacked the stranded 14-year-old after picking her up from a taxi rank in Aberdeen in the early hours of 15 January 2023. 

A man who violently assaulted his partner before setting fire to a block of flats in Perth and Kinross has been jailed. David Storie was found guilty of assaulting and choking the woman to the danger of her life following the attack at his home in Milnathort on 1 June 2024.

The Crown Office has lodged a first notice to begin the court process for a fatal accident inquiry into the death of Hannah McInally. Hannah McInally, 24, from Aberdeen died in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on 23 November 2021 following complications of an undiagnosed ruptured ectopic pregnancy.

A husband and wife who breached a position of trust to abuse vulnerable foster children in their care have been jailed. Barbara and Douglas Daniel were found guilty of subjecting six children - aged between four and 14 - to cruel and unnatural treatment between 1986 and 1991.

A shoplifter whose struggle with a store security guard caused him to suffer a fatal heart attack has been jailed for five years and four months.  Natasha Smith, 38, was prevented from leaving the Asda superstore in Arbroath by 61-year-old Alun Harris-Richards and another shop worker amid suspi

A former Police Scotland officer who sent sexual messages to an undercover colleague posing as 12-year-old girl has been sentenced. Adam McManus admitted three charges when he appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court on 9 January 2026.

The Crown Office has lodged a first notice to begin the court process for a fatal accident inquiry into the death of 24-year-old Reece Sweeney, who died on 20 June 2023 within HMP Shotts. Mr Sweeney was in legal custody and in the care of the state at the time of his death.

A man who stole multiple identities and accumulated more than £1 million in false bank accounts has been imprisoned for four years. Craig Milligan, 47, of Dumfries, used several aliases – including those of two dead men – to fraudulently open accounts and obtain credit cards.

A pensioner who embezzled almost £40,000 from a charity that supports vulnerable women and children has been imprisoned for 20 months. Jay Reid, 67, was a manager of Argyll and Bute Women’s Aid in Dunoon when she stole the money over a five-year period.

A man befriended schoolboys through a messaging app then coerced them to perform sex acts in exchange for Xbox codes. Ross Brogan, 31, from Glasgow, bombarded four teenage victims with indecent communications and obscene videos then offered payment if they would reciprocate.

A man has been jailed for four years after admitting trafficking a female into Scotland and forcing her to work as a prostitute. George Coman, 35, from Glasgow, told the woman she could find work and claim benefits if she agreed to move to the UK from her native Romania.

Five recommendations have been made following a fatal accident inquiry into the suicide of a student. Kerry Ann Finnigan, a 26-year-old English literature graduate, died by suicide at University Hospital Wishaw on 21 December 2019. 

The fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the deaths of Christopher Stuchbury, Donald Dinnie and Brett McCullough commences today at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.  The purpose of an FAI includes determining the cause of death, the circumstances in which the death occurred, and to establish what reasonabl

A house master found guilty of sexually abusing and assaulting vulnerable children at a residential school has been sentenced. William Brydson committed the offences while employed as Head of Care at Monken Hadley, latterly known as Woodlands School, in Newton Stewart.