Convicted killer Robbie McIntosh pounced on lone dog walker Linda McDonald and beat her with a dumbbell
A convicted killer launched a savage assault on a grandmother while on unsupervised home leave from jail – 16 years after murdering a woman in a near identical attack.
Robbie McIntosh, 31, was just a few days away from a parole hearing that could have freed him when he pounced on lone dog walker Linda McDonald and beat her with a dumbbell.
The horrific attack – described by a judge as ‘one of the worst cases of violence’ he had ever seen – happened in woods four miles from the spot where McIntosh’s first victim was murdered.
He was 15 when he stabbed civil servant Anne Nicoll 29 times on a hillside in Dundee in a cannabis-fuelled attack of ‘appalling brutality’ as she walked the family dog.
Last night, McIntosh’s latest crime sparked a major row, as the family of 52-year-old Mrs McDonald criticised prison chiefs for letting him out on unsupervised home leave despite his record.
Her husband, Matthew McDonald, 53, said: ‘On August 7, a horrific and violent attack on my wife turned our family’s life upside down. Given his past conviction for a brutal murder, I can’t believe the Scottish Prison Service deemed that this sick individual, who attempted to murder my wife, be allowed to be in the public domain.
‘The fact that they did raises serious questions about the criteria followed by the appropriate authorities – and if there had been strict monitoring, supervision and tagging in place we wouldn’t be going through this hell. To ensure no other family has to endure what we are experiencing, the SPS and the Parole Board should, as a priority, examine their release criteria and assessment systems. That is the least we would expect.’
The row follows concern over the number of prisoners who reoffend while on home leave under Scotland’s soft-touch justice system.
Linda McDonald leaves Edinburgh High Court yesterday with her husband after seeing her attacker admitting an attempted murder charge
Last night, the Tories demanded ‘whole life’ jail sentences for the worst killers.
McIntosh, 31, was given a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 15 years in jail in 2002 after murdering Miss Nicoll, 34, the previous year. He slit her throat, stabbed her then stamped on her face after brooding over scenes of torture and rape on the internet. The 15-year ‘punishment period’ of his sentence had to be served before consideration for parole, and ended last year because of time he spent on remand.
This meant he was given work placements and was later moved to Castle Huntly open prison, near Dundee, where his mother Heather was once a social worker.
McIntosh was given home leave on the 16th anniversary of Miss Nicoll’s murder, on August 2 this year, and attacked Mrs McDonald five days later.
At the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday, McIntosh admitted a charge of attempted murder.
Judge Lord Arthurson told him: ‘This is one of the worst cases of violence I have had to deal with.’
Advocate depute Iain McSporran, QC, said: ‘At the time of the current offence, the accused was temporarily at liberty as part of a programme of home leave in anticipation of his being considered for admission to parole.
‘He was admitted to his most recent period of leave on August 2, 2017, which by unhappy coincidence was the 16th anniversary of the murder committed by him.’
Five days later, McIntosh was caught on CCTV leaving his mother’s home wearing a dark jacket and carrying a rucksack.
Mrs McDonald had taken a path leading to Templeton Woods, an area popular with cyclists and walkers, with her Jack Russell Betsy, about four miles from Law Hill where Miss Nicoll was killed.
As she approached a water tower, Mrs McDonald became aware of McIntosh walking towards her ‘as if on a march’. She described him as ‘expressionless’ as he passed her, but then heard his footsteps stop and him running towards her.
Mr McSporran said she turned to face him and saw him holding a dumbbell and – anticipating a blow – put her hands up to cover her face. ‘The accused then brought the weighted end of the dumbbell down on her head and the victim was stunned by the weight and power of the blow,’ he said.
‘Nonetheless, she attempted to fight back and as the accused lifted the dumbbell back up into the air to strike her again, she reached up towards him with both her hands to try to prevent him from striking her again. He grabbed her clothing, pulling her to the ground.’
Mrs McDonald, who has two children, Rebecca and Samuel, began to scream and shout: ‘Please, please, why are you doing this?’
She described McIntosh as ‘impervious to her pleas’, Mr McSporran said. He added that she continued to scream during the attack and ‘knew she had to scream to attract attention, she was certain she going to be murdered’.
Though drifting in and out of consciousness, she was aware of Mc-Intosh dragging her into the woods. It was ‘a matter of great good fortune’ brothers Charles and Peter Connor walking their dogs in the area heard her screams.
Charles Connor ran ahead and saw McIntosh crouching down, leaning over something on the ground which he initially believed may have been an injured dog.
McIntosh ran off and Mr Connor found Mrs McDonald badly injured with blood covering her face. He covered her with his jacket and tried to stem the bleeding while his brother called emergency services. Two women also came to her aid.
Police found McIntosh in blood-stained boxer shorts at home, with other clothing in a washing machine which had been turned on.
Mrs McDonald suffered two skull fractures, scalp wounds which had to be stitched and stapled, bruising and scratches to her chest, swelling to her face and eyes, and a badly damaged thumb.
The court heard Mrs McDonald, who was in court yesterday, still suffers pain and dizziness and has nightmares and flashbacks.
McIntosh admitted attempting to murder her by repeatedly striking her with a dumbbell to her severe injury, permanent impairment and disfigurement and to the danger of her life.
Defence solicitor advocate Chris Fyffe said: ‘He acknowledges he has committed an abhorrent and disturbing act and that he is ashamed, contrite and penitent.’
Lord Arthurson called for a background report on McIntosh and remanded him in custody ahead of sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow on November 29.
At the time of the attack on Mrs McDonald, McIntosh lived at Bridgefoot, Angus, a mile north of Dundee. Templeton Woods is the site of the unsolved murders of Carol Lannen, 18, and Elizabeth McCabe, 20, whose bodies were discovered there in 1979 and 1980.
Commenting on McIntosh’s latest crime, Detective Inspector Tom Leonard said: ‘I’d like to pay tribute to and thank Linda McDonald for her strength and support throughout this investigation.’
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘If ever there were a case outlining the need for whole life sentences, this is it. 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 Parole Board for Scotland declined to comment. An SPS spokesman said it could not comment on individual prisoners. A penal system source said: ‘It’s not a perfect science – we have to ensure people are given community access in preparation for possible parole, and we can face legal action if we don’t offer them that opportunity.’
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson was yesterday trumpeting the success of a prison scheme to cut reoffending. Asked about the case, he said: ‘I cannot really get into individual cases because the court is still to determine the outcome.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘This was a truly dreadful crime and while ministers can’t comment on the case, the guilty plea means that the individual responsible will be held accountable for his actions without subjecting the victim to further trauma during a trial.’