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Crimewatch
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Published in The Scotsman
31st August 2010
A SEX attacker raped and tried to murder a prostitute after abducting her and dumping her in the boot of his car during a terrifying ordeal, a court has heard. Ewan Mackay, 30, throttled the woman and hit her with a claw hammer and told her: "Women are all slags."
Mackay even complained about the blood-stained carpet in the boot of his car and told his victim: "Look what you have done to my car. The 28-year-old eventually fled by jumping out of his moving vehicle and running to a neighbouring house to seek help.
Mackay, who previously escaped a jail sentence after trying to strangle a woman with a sock after a report suggested he was suffering from a sleep disorder, now faces a life sentence for his latest crime. His latest victim, who was due to give evidence at Mackay's trial, sat in the public benches at the High Court in Edinburgh today flanked by Reliance custodial officers after he pled guilty to attacking her and details of the offence were given.
Mackay, formerly of Glenmore, Whitburn, in West Lothian, admitted raping the woman and assaulting her to her severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of her life and attempting to murder her in December last year. The network engineer picked up the 28-year-old prostitute, who worked to fund her heroin addiction, in Leith in the early house of December 6 at a bus stop and drove her to a small, quiet area at West Telferton industrial estate at Portobello.
Advocate depute Kath Harper said: "The victim began to feel uneasy as she did not know where she was. The accused said to her that he liked to do it outside the car and she got out," she said. But Mackay then grabbed the woman's throat and compressed it." "She was unable to scream although she tried. She was unable to release his grip. She lost consciousness and fell to the ground," she said.
Mackay grabbed her and pulled her to her feet and told her to face a wall before pulling her trousers down, The weeping woman tried to use her mobile phone but he seized it from her and threw it away. He tried to have sex with her but the victim was moving and he became increasingly angry.
Ms Harper said the woman lost consciousness again. She added: "When she regained consciousness she realised that she in the boot of a moving car." She said after the vehicle travelled for about 20 minutes it stopped and Mackay opened the boot. The victim begged him to let her go and asked if he was going to kill her but he said he was not. He then dragged her out of the boot and the woman realised she was surrounded by trees and could see cars on a nearby road. She ran in that direction but her captor caught up with her and began hitting her over the head.
The woman, who had blood pouring from her head into her eyes, could see he was swinging an implement at her. She fell to the ground and he continued to strike her. The victim tried to flee again but was grabbed again. She realised she ha been struck with a claw hammer before she was raped twice. She was then put back in the boot of the car and thought she lapsed into unconsciousness again. She woke up and found the hammer in the boot with her and tried unsuccessfully to use it to open the boot.
Mackay drove her to his home in at a quiet cul de sac in Whitburn and told her to get out the boot and said: "Look what you have done to my car." She was dragged into the house and Mackay got a large knife and duct tape and told her to take off her clothes. The woman stripped to her underwear and asked him again if he was going to kill her and he said he was not.
Tape was put over her mouth and her wrists were taped together and she was pushed at knifepoint upstairs. She was pushed into the bathroom and he ran a bath before cutting her bra straps with the knife and taking off her pants. The woman was told to get in the bath before he undressed and got in with her sitting facing her.
The advocate depute said: "She was crying thinking that the accused was going to kill her. She was trying to scream and struggle." The woman heard a noise and Mackay told her: "You've woke my son. look what you've done." She apologised and he got out of the bath and dressed before dragging her out and telling her he was getting out of the house.
She was put in the front passenger seat of his car and as he drove along the street she jumped out and ran to houses to seek help. A resident dialled 999 after she turned up on his doorstep wtih head injuries.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was taken to St John's Hospital in Livingston while police went to Mackay's home. He phoned the police control centre to ask why officers were outside his home.
He was seen drinking alcohol and eventually passed out knives to police and left the house at 10.30 after negotiators were called in and was detained. He told one officer: "I'm in a lot of s*** due to last night."
The victim was found to have a fractured skull and hands and multiple blood clots in a lung. Temporary judge Rita Rae QC was shown photos of the injuries inflicted on the woman and commented they were "pretty horrific".
Ms Harper said: "The victim states that this incident has caused her to be terrified when she is alone and when it is dark. She has lost all her confidence. She has said that the incident has stopped her working as a prostitute and taking drugs."
The prosecutor said that the Crown was seeking to have a full risk assessment carried out on Mackay which can lead to the making of an Order for Lifelong Restriction because of his latest crime and previous offending.
Defence counsel Bill Adam said Mackay had "no recollection" of the events in his latest offence.
Miss Rae told Mackay: "Obviously this is a very serious crime, a very violent sexual attack on a young woman." The judge said he had a significant conviction and added: "Clearly there must be very grave concerns about the danger you pay present to members of the public. She said she would call for a full risk assessment to be carried out on him and remanded him in custody after deferring sentence in the case until November.
Mackay, formerly of Dingwall, in Easter Ross, was placed on probation for three years and ordered to pay £3000 compensation to a previous victim at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2002 after attacking a friend Kirsty Kennedy,18, in his car at a car park at Aonach Mor near Fort William. He admitted assaulting her to severe injury and danger of life in February 2001 but an expert report suggested he was suffering from a sleep disorder at the time of the offence.
The judge in that case, Lord Bonomy, told Mackay his primary concern must be the protection of the public. He said:"I quite appreciate that sometimes the right way to do that is not simply by throwing the book at the accused, but by taking steps to ensure that the person does not re-offend and he gets the opportunity to put his life in order." He said he was persuaded there were exceptional circumstances in the case.
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