A merciless pensioner who is facing a life sentence for the murder of a woman in an attack of “quite staggering” brutality failed to appear in court yesterday to be dealt with.
A judge was told that Michael Taylor was ill and had not been brought to the High Court in Edinburgh from prison.
Taylor, 72, punched and bludgeoned 60-year-old Elizabeth MacKay in her own home during the fatal assault before fleeing her house in Kintail Court, in Inverness.
Prosecutors were unable to ascertain why Taylor killed his victim but he removed her clothing, handled her breasts and put his mouth on one of them.
Police investigating the death of Ms MacKay, who also went by the surname Muir, found his prints and large amounts of his DNA at the scene.
It was also discovered that he had admitted assaulting his victim to two other people following the attack.
Taylor had earlier denied murdering the victim between March 28 and 31 last year but was found guilty by a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh.
He grabbed Ms MacKay and repeatedly punched her on the head and caused her to fall to the floor, losing consciousness. He then repeatedly struck her on the head, arms and hands with an object suspected to be a kitchen pot or pan.
Taylor had been freed on three separate bail orders from Inverness Sheriff Court at the time he committed the murder.
Following his earlier conviction the trial judge Michael O’Grady QC told Taylor: “Murder is always an appalling offence. The brutality of this particular offence is quite staggering.”
The judge said: “No one, I imagine, will ever know why it should be that you attacked this woman in this fashion.”
“What is abundantly clear is that she must have suffered a painful and terrifying death at your hands,” he said.
Taylor, who has a criminal record for road traffic offending, public indecency and a racially aggravated breach of the peace, had sentence deferred on him until yesterday while a background report was prepared.
Defence counsel Shelagh McCall told the judge that the report was ready but Taylor was absent.
She said: “I am told he is unwell and the prison authorities have considered it appropriate not to bring him.”
The judge continued the case until later this month for sentencing.
