Scots mum cleared of witch monument murder faked having baby to scam elderly men

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A mum cleared of the murder of her ex- boyfriend’s sister at a Scots witch monument faked having a young baby to dupe elderly and vulnerable men into giving her cash.

Angela Newlands also stole eight cockapoo puppies and threw most of them over a fence as well as carrying out a lengthy campaign of theft and fraud.

Newlands, 34, conned numerous victims into giving her cash for a non-existent baby and used stolen bank cards to steal hundreds of pounds.

Newlands targeted victims as old as 85 by pretending she was interested in relationships with them, as well as robbing a volunteer helping out at a Royal British Legion food bank.

She also faked injury to persuade people to drive her round after clambering uninvited into their cars - before robbing them and using their bank cards.

Fiscal depute Sam Craib told Dundee Sheriff Court on Tuesday, November 26, that Newlands approached Matthew Hume, 58, outside a supermarket on 10 October 2023, said she was called Lisa, and asked for money for her non-existent baby.

Mr Craib said: "She said she needed it to buy nappies and baby milk for her baby, which was not true. He gave the accused around £10-£12 as that was the amount of change he had on him.

"For a number of months after this first meeting, Mr Hume would frequently bump into the accused in Forfar town centre and on each occasion she would ask for money. He would give the cash he had in his pocket."

After he let her in his house on a single occasion, his friend told him who she really was and he broke off contact. By then he had given her approximately £400.

Newlands then targeted David Smeaton, 56, in the same way, using the same false name, from April 20 this year. "He was under the impression a relationship was in its initial stages, and the accused would regularly inform him that she loved him.

"At one point she borrowed his phone. Afterwards, he received calls from persons looking to speak to 'Angela'. At this point he suspected the accused of not being honest with him," Mr Craib said Mr Smeaton had given her around £180.

"On 1 May, Edward Milne, then 85, was at home when he heard a knock on the door. She introduced herself using the surname Milne. She asked to use the phone as she needed help.

"The accused immediately showed a romantic interest in Mr Milne, making attempts to hug and kiss him, and asked to stay the night. He asked her to leave and phone a taxi. He gave her £55 for her fare and tip.

"On 9 May, she attended his house. She attempted to push past him, but he managed to keep her outside and demanded that she leave.

"The accused commented that she was there to give him his money back, however, went on to say she didn't have any money."

During December 2023, Newlands called herself Sophia Taylor and conned 74-year-old George Watt into inviting her into his home by saying she had fallen out with a boyfriend.

He invited her in for a cup of tea and something to eat. Newlands took £60 from a kitchen tin, but put it back after being confronted about its disappearance.

She persuaded him to drive her to a number of places, unaware she had stolen his bank card. She used his card to buy items in several shops, as he unwittingly helped by driving her.

Newlands turned up again the next day and was taken in by Mr Watt after telling him she was sleeping rough. This time she took the £60 from the kitchen tin.

A week later, Newlands turned up at the Royal British Legion in Forfar and ordered breakfast. She stole volunteer Samantha Young-Gillian's phone and purse and used her card to pay for a taxi and shopping worth over £130.

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Newlands also stole bank cards and other items by entering people's cars - including retired police officer Robert Beattie, 80.

She climbed into his car at traffic lights, claimed to have a blood clot after giving birth, and forced him to give her a lift. She left the car with his mobile phone and bank cards used them to buy goods worth £53.49.

The court heard she stole eight puppies from a kennel and was found carrying two of them in Forfar town centre. Quizzed by police, she confessed to hurling the others over a fence. "They were found in an adjacent field," Mr Craib said.

Newlands had sentence deferred after admitting 17 separate offences around Forfar and Kirriemuir between 29 August 2022 and 11 May 2024.

The spree started in August 2022 when Newlands broke into a caravan and stole £100 cash and a purse, bank cards and a driver's license. In total, she acquired more than £1,200 in cash and goods, along with a cushion contained in a parcel she stole from the back of a parked Yodel delivery van.

Sheriff George Way kept her in custody and said he needed time to consider how long she should be jailed for because it was a complex series of offences.

Solicitor Pauline Cullerton, defending, said: "She accepts full responsibility for the offences and is embarrassed and ashamed of her behaviour.

"She didn't intend to cause harm. She has recognised her actions will leave scars for her victims and offers her apologies to the people named in the charges.

"It is fair to say the offences in relation to dishonesty were due to her substance misuse. She was in an abusive relationship and her partner was persuading her to keep providing him with money."

The body of 22-year-old Annalise Johnstone was found dumped at the Maggie Wall's Witch Monument in Dunning, Perthshire in May 2018. Her throat had been cut and she sustained non-survivable injuries.

Mother-of-five Newlands was cleared of the murder after a judge at the High Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict her of the crime.

Jordan Johnstone - who admitted carrying his dead sister's body for two miles and dumping her by a roadside - was also cleared of murder after the jury returned the controversial not proven verdict.

When he gave evidence after Newlands was cleared at the murder trial, Johnstone blamed her for the killing and told the jury she had blackmailed him into covering it up.

He said Newlands cut his sister's throat with a Stanley knife after going to look at the monument which marks the spot where a woman is said to have been burnt as a witch in 1657.

He told the court he remained in the car with Newlands' sleeping children.

He said he later carried his sister's body for around 40 minutes before dumping it behind a wall about two miles away because he feared Newlands' father was going to "chop my wee sister up and throw her away".

The prosecution and defence had confirmed that Mr Johnstone's car was near the Maggie's Wall Memorial at the time Miss Johnstone was attacked. No murder weapon has been found and the investigation remains open.

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