EDINBURGH MAN CONVICTED OF FRENZIED MURDER OF EX-GIRLFRIEND
In Edinburgh, 29-year-old Douglas Lawrence committed a serious violent offense, resulting in the death of his ex-girlfriend, Carolyn Ellis.She was found dead with 45 stab wounds and had been strangled using a belt.
The attack occurred on January 17, 2012, at a residence in West Tollcross.
Despite a history of mental health difficulties—including diagnoses of Asperger's Syndrome and schizophrenia—Lawrence had successfully obtained an honors degree in philosophy from Edinburgh University.
Eyewitnesses described him as engaging in a “terrible frenzy of violence,” armed with a belt and a knife during the assault.
He had also inflicted serious injuries on another woman, Pauline Smith, before being subdued with CS Gas by police officers.
Following his arrest, Lawrence admitted to multiple assaults on individuals including neighbors Christeen MacKenzie and Peter Scolley, and a nursing assistant named John Stewart.
The court accepted his guilty plea for culpable homicide, a less severe charge.
He has been detained at Carstairs Hospital to undergo further psychiatric assessment.
The judge stated, “You carried out a terrible frenzy of violence, armed with a belt and a knife, during which you killed your former girlfriend and caused injury to another woman,” and ordered his ongoing detention for mental health evaluation.
