Teen's 11 chilling words to family after stabbing woman to death in scooter row

The teenage murderer suspect repeatedly watched himself stab his victim Danielle Davidson with a zombie-style knife on CCTV in court, before changing his plea to guilty

A teenager uttered a chillingly simple 11-word sentence to his family after stabbing a woman in an apparent row over a scooter.

The 16-year-old, who stabbed a woman with a Rambo-style knife, pleaded guilty after footage of the killing was played to the court. The boy, who was 16 at the time, had pleaded not guilty and opted to go on trial, but changed his mind once the clip was played and finally admitted to being responsible for killing young mum Danielle Davidson, 33.

The attacker - now 17 and cannot be identified due to his age - appeared at the High Court in Glasgow and pleaded guilty to murdering mum-of-one Miss Davidson in Constitution Street in Edinburgh's Leith neighbourhood on May 18, 2023. After the stabbing, he told his aunt and uncle: "I have done the crime, so I will do the time".

Prosecutor John McElroy KC told the court the teenager had called Miss Davidson prior to the killing. She then left with a friend called Conlan Carr to meet the boy. Mr McElroy said: "It is understood there was a recent history of antagonism between Carr and the accused."

The killer and an associate arrived at the scene on scooters, soon after the teen killer's father also arrived after getting a call from his son. The dad initially got into an argument with Carr, who was said to be armed. The killer then took "a large knife" from the waistband of his trousers and brandished it at Carr.

"During the course of this argument, Carr seemed to be attempting to take the accused's scooter," said Mr McElroy. The teenager's dad tried, unsuccessfully, to calm matters. His son then, for some reason, decided to turn the knife on Miss Davidson.

"She was heard to shout 'I have been stabbed' before collapsing on the tram track," said Mr McElroy. The row about the scooter briefly continued before the young assailant fled to a nearby Tesco supermarket. Once there, he went into the closed women's toilet and changed his clothes.

The boy then got a taxi to elsewhere in Edinburgh. It was there he telephoned his aunt and uncle to come collect him. They then picked him up in the early hours. The aunt had alerted police that they were doing this.

The advocate said: "During this time in their company, the accused made admissions to them such as: 'I have done the crime, so I will do the time'. He told his relatives that people had pulled knives on him so he had to defend himself. He explained to his uncle that the weapon had had was a big 'Rambo' knife. He said that he just started stabbing and that it was a 'stab or be stabbed' situation."

The court heard how Miss Davidson had been rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. She had five "sharp force injuries" including four stab wounds. The fatal blow was to the back which had gone into her chest and punctured a lung. The court heard how she had her own home, but often lived with her father, and is survived by one child.

The killer's lawyer said why the mum was attacked was "utterly inexplicable". Iain McSporran, defending, gave a background of the boy being "exploited" from the age of 13 or 14 by others to become involved in "street level" drug dealing. The KC said there was evidence an associate of Conlan Carr had wanted "serious violence" inflicted on the teenager for him allegedly stealing a scooter.

The young killer then believed he had been "set up" to be attacked that night. But, Mr McSporran said there was no evidence to suggest Miss Davidson was involved in this or aware there would be any assault on the boy. He added: "I suppose if violence had occurred between Carr and the accused, there would have been some explanation. But, he is at a loss to explain rationally why he chose to attack Danielle Davidson. Upon repeated viewing (of CCTV of the attack in court), he came to realise there was no justification for what he did."

Mr McSporran also told the hearing that the murder weapon - which was not found - was a Rambo or Zombie-style knife, which had "no possible domestic use". The teenager is currently detained in a secure unit. Lord Arthurson deferred sentencing until next month in Edinburgh.