Police investigating the murder of a woman in a quiet rural part of the Highlands last night charged a man in connection with her death.
He is due to appear at Inverness Sheriff Court today.
Officers were called to a house at Croit Sonas in Culnakirk in the hills above Loch Ness at around 3.40pm on Monday.
Initially, the death of the 66-year-old woman, named locally as Morag Carmichael, was being treated as “unexplained” pending the results of a post-mortem and a report was to be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
But last night police said a 33-year-old man had been arrested and charged in connection with the death, which they said was “being treated as murder”.
He is due to appear at Inverness Sheriff Court today.
Yesterday, a significant police presence remained at the house where Mrs Carmichael and her husband Kenneth have lived for many years and where they ran a farm and donkey sanctuary.
Police cars were stationed at the entrance to the property which is in a peaceful and relatively remote area around two miles from the village of Drumnadrochit.
The house is at the end of a narrow lane off a single-track road with just a few nearby houses surrounded by farmland.
Officers in white forensics suits could be seen at the property and several marked and unmarked cars visited the scene throughout the day. Other cars were stopped from approaching the vicinity and their drivers questioned.
More police officers were stationed on the main A833 road between Drumnadrochit and Beauly, about a mile from the scene, as investigations at the house continued.
Before the development last night when the man was charged, Detective Chief Inspector Maggie Miller said the death was being treated as unexplained and appealed for information.
Local residents were reluctant to speak about the incident or were unaware of the death in the small neighbourhood.
However, one man who lives nearby and asked not to be named, said: “I saw a few police cars but I thought it had something to do with all the flooding and bad weather. The fact that someone has died will be a great shock to people.
“This is a very quiet place and it’s not something you expect to hear about here.”
David Fraser, chairman of Glen Urquhart Community Council, said: “This is an absolute tragedy, just awful. The woman has lived in the glen for many years and was well known in the area.
“Everyone is deeply shocked and our condolences go to the family and friends of the lady involved.”
