Prison for 'shallow grave' killer

John Lawson abducted the 87-year-old woman because he wanted her car

A man who abducted and killed an 87-year-old woman before burying her in a shallow grave in woods in Perthshire has been sentenced to 15 years in jail.

John Lawson, 48, got into Dolina Maclean's car at a supermarket in Perth last May and made her drive off.

He claimed she later collapsed after he ordered her out of the vehicle. He left her in the woods but later returned and buried her in a drainage ditch.

Lawson was found guilty last month of culpable homicide.

During the six-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, jurors were shown video footage of Lawson, from Perthshire, confessing to police that he jumped into Miss Maclean's green Vauxhall Astra on 30 May because he wanted to steal the car.

Lawson, a former French Foreign Legionnaire, made her drive along country roads before telling her to get out of the car.

The jury was told that after Miss Maclean, from Stanley, collapsed, Lawson dragged her body to Saddlebrae Wood, near Moneydie, where he abandoned her.

We feel that he in some way compromised by telling what he had done and letting us know where her remains were to be found Mary Ann Maclean Dolina Maclean's sister-in-law

He returned six days later to move Miss Maclean's body to Knowehead Woodland, near Dunning, where he buried it in a drainage ditch.

He was eventually caught after police found him sleeping rough in the car weeks later.

After hours of questioning by officers, he took them to the body of the retired nurse.

Miss Maclean's remains had been lying in the shallow grave for almost three weeks.

The court was told that, due to the state of the body, the cause of Miss Maclean's death could not be determined. However, a pathologist stated that she could have been terrified to death.

Jailing Lawson at the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Roger Craik QC said the abduction and killing of Miss Maclean "must have caused shock and dismay in the minds of those who learned of it, particularly in the minds of those who knew her".

Dolina Maclean's body lay in the woods for about three weeks

The judge added: "The deliberate, callous and planned way in which you disposed of the body can only have added revulsion.

"The only thing that can really be said for you, and this has been said on your behalf this morning, is that after your first attempt to lie your way out of the situation, an element of decency prevailed and you co-operated with the police in taking them to the scenes of your crimes and pointing out the places involved."

Lawson had originally been accused of murder, but during the closing stages of his trial the judge ruled that only a charge of culpable homicide could be considered.

Lawson had been willing to admit culpable homicide since his first court appearance.

Dolina Maclean's sister-in-law, Mary Ann Maclean, told the BBC Scotland news website that she felt justice had been done.

She said: "I really feel sorry for this man. My sister-in-law was a real lady, a very special person. All her life she just worked to help other people and it was unfortunate what happened in the end to her, how she had to leave her life this way.

"It was very sad, but yet we feel that he in some way compromised by telling what he had done and letting us know where her remains were to be found."

Mary Ann Maclean said that discovery of the body allowed the family to pay its last respects on the island of North Uist, "where she belonged".