BRUTAL INVERNESS MOTHER-KILLER NEIL CARMICHAEL GETS TREATMENT AFTER COURT ACQUITTAL
A man named Neil Carmichael, aged 34, committed a brutal act by killing his mother, Morag Carmichael, at their family residence in Drumnadrochit, Inverness-shire, on December 7th.Morag, aged 66 and known locally for her donkey sanctuary work, was subjected to extensive violence including six stab wounds, skull fractures, and injuries to her neck and cheekbones.
Neil later admitted to his father Kenneth that Morag was dead.
The court heard that Neil had previously faced a murder charge at the High Court in Glasgow but was acquitted after prosecutors accepted he was not criminally responsible at the time due to a drug-induced mental disorder.
He is currently detained at the State Hospital in Carstairs for treatment.
Neil had a history of mental health issues, including drug abuse (cannabis, valium, and amphetamines) since his teenage years, and was described as having been 'up and down' in mood, with his behavior becoming increasingly erratic and preoccupied with woodland and woodcraft.
On the day of the murder, Neil was behaving incoherently, talking 'gibberish,' and made bizarre comments about his mother being a 'gypsy witch,' claiming that if she was not, she would not be dead.
His father, Kenneth, found Morag concealed beneath a rug outside the back of their house and immediately called emergency services.
Despite efforts to save her, Morag succumbed to her injuries.
Neil told officers that he knew the killing was inevitable and expressed a nihilistic attitude.
Prosecutors detailed that Neil assaulted his mother with ornaments, a baseball bat, and a saucepan, and inflicted blunt force injuries, dragging her and repeatedly attacking her with knives.
He also attempted to hide her body in the garden, leading to charges of attempted to defeat the ends of justice.
The court also noted Neil's long history of drug use, which contributed to a diagnosis of drug-induced psychosis at the time of the murder.
A judge ordered Neil to remain at Carstairs on an interim detention order, and the case is scheduled to return to court in Edinburgh later this year.
