Inverness woman guilty of killing ex-partner

AN Inverness woman has been found guilty of killing her ex-partner.

But after an hour and three-quarters of deliberation, the jury at the High Court in Inverness found Yvonne Lambert not guilty of murdering former soldier David McLaughlan who was the father of her three children.

Instead they unanimously convicted her of the lesser offence of culpable homicide.

She will be sentenced on July 11 but was told she is likely to face a jail sentence.

Lambert’s QC Jock Thomson asked for bail to be continued so Lambert could tie up any loose ends before starting the sentence imposed. He said he would reserve any further comments until the sentencing date.

Judge Stacey told Lambert: "You have been convicted of a serious crime. Your counsel is quite correct about the eventual disposal. However, I do require reports and I am prepared in the unusual circumstances to allow your bail to continue."

Iona Lambert, Yvonne Lambert’s mother, began sobbing when the verdict was announced.

Later, a statement was issued on behalf of Mr McLaughlan’s family.

The family said they had not seen any signs of remorse or compassion from Yvonne Lambert during the trial.

"There are no winners in this case, only losers. We have lost a brother. Three children have lost a father.

"We do not hold any malice against Yvonne Lambert’s family. This has been a difficult time for them too.

"We want to thank Northern Constabulary, the Crown Office, the Procurator Fiscal service and Victim Information and Advice and Witness Service for all their support."

The verdict came on the sixth day of the trial of Lambert (35), of The Brackens, Leachkin Road, Inverness, who was charged with the murder of Mr McLaughlan.

She has denied killing him with a knife at his home in Maxwell Drive in the Dalneigh area of the city on July 14.

Ex-soldier Mr McLauglan (44) is her former partner. He died from a single knife wound through the heart.

Brian Kelly (23) and Craig Cornish (27) both told the trial that their friend had been drinking heavily on the day before his death and there had been a violent confrontation with Lambert, who was also drunk, because a child had been left alone in his house while he was out.

Next door neighbour Barbara Wood (69) said in her evidence that the following morning Lambert had shouted at her to phone an ambulance. When she went into the house she saw Lambert trying to revive Mr McLaughlan who was lying in the blood-covered kitchen. Lambert had told her they had been playing with a knife.

Lambert’s mother, Iona Lambert (54) of King Street, Inverness, told the trial that her daughter had later claimed to her the death had been an accident and as she turned while holding a knife Mr McLaughlan had walked onto it.

But consultant pathologist Dr Rosslyn Rankin (55), who carried out a post-mortem examination on Mr McLaughlan, said he died from a single stab wound which went right through his heart and did not think such a wound, which cut through bone, could have been inflicted accidentally.

But another pathologist, Dr Natasha Inglis, did not rule out the possibility of an accident if Mr McLaughlan was bent down when the knife entered his body.

After Lambert had been detained by police, Detective Constable Christopher Macleod (31), who was taking the swabs, told the court she asked a number of times if Mr McLaughlan was dead and he told her he didn’t know. "Then she started screaming ‘I’m a murderer, I’m a murderer’," he said.

Today the defence declined to lead evidence.