A woman is facing court accused of a fake abduction plot staged in a bid to extort money from her own granny.
Michelle Smith, or Watson, denies the charge of attempted extortion and a trial date has now been fixed for later this year.
The 33-year-old is accused of committing the crime on June 9 2021.
It is alleged she, while acting with another person, repeatedly made phone communication with her grandmother pretending to have been abducted and that “harm would be caused” if she did not pay a ransom.
A trial is set to take place in November
The charge claims Watson threatened her gran with “false information”, placing her in a state of “fear and apprehension” that her granddaughter would be harmed.
It is said she attempted to “compel” her to pay a sum of money to persons unknown by extortion.
Watson, of Nellfield Place, Aberdeen, entered a plea of not guilty when the case called at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Fiscal depute Andrew McMann asked for early dates to be fixed in the case due to the complainer being elderly.
Sheriff Joseph Platt fixed a trial date for November and a pre-trial hearing for October.
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