Boy, 17, murdered woman with 'Rambo' knife in scooter dispute

A teenager murdered an Edinburgh woman with a large 'Rambo' knife in a row involving an e-scooter, a court has heard.

The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, repeatedly stabbed Danielle Davidson, 33, in Constitution Street, Leith in May last year.

The High Court in Glasgow heard details of a "history of antagonism" that led to the incident, which the boy admitted last week.

The court heard that he had been accused of stealing an e-scooter, which a man tried to take from him during the incident, before the boy turned his knife on Ms Davidson.

Prosecutor John McElroy KC said she had arranged to meet the boy with her friend Conlan Carr.

He said: "It is understood there was a recent history of antagonism between Carr and the accused."

The masked boy and a friend arrived on e-scooters. The boy's father also arrived.

The father got into an argument with Mr Carr, who was holding a knife.

The boy then took out his own large knife and brandished it at Carr.

Mr McElroy said: "During the course of this argument, Carr seemed to be attempting to take the accused's scooter."

The court heard that when the father failed to calm matters, the boy then attacked Ms Davidson with his knife.

She was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, but died of her injuries after a blow punctured a lung.

The boy fled to a nearby supermarket where he changed clothes in a toilet then took a taxi to another location in Edinburgh.

He phoned his aunt and uncle who picked him up and alerted police.

Mr McElroy said: "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 he had was a big 'Rambo' knife.

Iain McSporran, defending, said the boy had been "exploited" from the age of 13 or 14 to be a part of "street level" drug dealing.

He said an associate of Mr Carr had wanted "serious violence" inflicted on him for the alleged theft of an e-scooter.

The boy believed he had been "set up" to be attacked that night.

But Mr McSporran said there was no evidence to suggest Ms Davidson was involved in this or aware of any planned attack.

He said: "He is at a loss to explain rationally why he chose to attack Danielle Davidson."

The boy is currently detained in a secure unit. He will be sentenced next month.