Man jailed for 'exceptionally brutal' murder of mum-of-two

A man who beat a woman to death in her own home in Moray has been jailed for a minimum of 24 years.

Mother-of-two Lucretia Donaghy, 32, who was known as Keshia, was found dead at her home in Anderson Drive, Elgin, in November 2023.

Owen Grant, 43, had denied assaulting and murdered her by repeatedly striking her on the head and body.

However a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found him guilty of murder, where Lord Scott jailed him for life.

The judge, who described the attack as involving a claw-hammer or similar implement, said: "The attack was exceptionally savage, frenzied and brutal."

He said that in a victim impact statement Keshia's mother said her heart was broken.

Keshia died after sustaining multiple blunt force head injuries and was found lying face down in a bedroom.

A neighbour had heard sounds of an argument coming from the downstairs flat and the victim calling out: "No, no, no."

After the murder, Grant turned up drunk at a woman's address and gave her money to source cocaine. She returned to the house and told him she had learned that Keshia was dead.

Grant cried but went on to claim the information was wrong and that police activity at her home was a drugs raid.

Grant denied murder and claimed: "I never laid a finger on her."

He told the trial that the killing was "disgusting" and "horrible" and he was devastated by the death.

Lord Scott ordered that Grant must serve a minimum prison term of 24 years before he is eligible to seek release on parole, because of the "exceptionally brutal nature of the murder" and the killer's extensive record for violent crime.

The judge said he killed an "unarmed and defenceless" woman.

Lord Scott said: "The reasons for this brutal murder remain unknown, but appear almost certainly to have been related to money."

Keshia's mother, Amanda Gow, said life without her would never be the same.

"She was my only daughter and my first born," she said in a statement released after the verdict.

"Her two daughters will have to live their lives without their mum.

"I still cannot get my head around the fact that she is gone and that her life was taken in such a brutal way."

Det Supt Lorna Ferguson said: "My thoughts remain with Keshia's family and friends as they continue to try to come to terms with what happened. I hope the verdict will bring them some form of justice.

"This was a complex inquiry and I would like to thank the local community for their patience and assistance throughout our investigation."