A FORMER charity worker, who was jailed for life for the murder of a
69-year-old woman after breaking into her home, yesterday lost her
appeal against conviction.
Brenda Horsburgh, 26, was convicted at the High Court in Kilmarnock
last year of murdering Mrs Jean Keay at Mrs Keay's home in Ardayre Road,
Prestwick, in August 1992, by striking her over the head with a baseball
bat, fracturing her skull.
Horsburgh had also been convicted of repeatedly striking Mrs Keay's
lodger, 74-year-old George Scott, about the head with the baseball bat,
tying him up, and robbing him of the keys to the bookmaker's premises of
which he was manager.
Horsburgh had also been found guilty of attacking Mrs Keay's sister,
74-year-old Mrs Hazel Smith, with a chisel to her severe injury,
permanent disfigurement, and impairment.
Horsburgh carried out the attacks along with Thomas Moore, with whom
she lived at Greenan Grove, Ayr. Moore -- who was convicted of murder at
a separate trial -- had his appeal dismissed at an earlier hearing.
In her appeal Horsburgh claimed that Lord Cowie, the Judge at her
trial, had misdirected the jury and that there had not been enough
evidence to convict her of murder, rather than culpable homicide.
However, the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh rejected both of
these arguments.
Lord Hope, the Lord Justice General, said that in the absence of clear
evidence as to whether it was Moore or Horsburgh who struck the blow
which killed Mrs Keay, the Crown conducted its case on the basis that
the two had been acting in concert.
The trial Judge had told the jury that if they had any doubt as to
whether Horsburgh had struck the fatal blow they would then have to
consider whether the Crown had proved that she was guilty of murder on
an ''art and part'' basis.
Horsburgh also claimed that she should have been convicted only of
culpable homicide since she had tried to help Mrs Keay. However Lord
Hope said Horsburgh's evidence that she had tried to help Mrs Keay when
she realised she was injured was a matter for the jury.
''It was open to them to conclude that this was an indication that
Horsburgh had not had in contemplation that Mrs Keay would be attacked
so wickedly and so recklessly.
''But it was also open to them to hold that this was done as an act of
remorse after the event and that it did not affect the issue as to what
was in Horsburgh's reasonable contemplation before Mrs Keay was
assaulted.''
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