A new interactive map pinpointing where women were murdered across Scotland has exposed the ‘lenient and sketchy’ reasons why some killers were never brought to justice, its creator has said.
Some of the most horrifying crimes against women in the north-east are included on the map, which was created by X user Danny who said he has spent thousands of hours over nearly three months compiling the information.
And he added that he hopes his hard work means the names, faces and stories of the tragic victims will not be forgotten.
The shocking interactive Google Map, which places markers on where bodies were discovered, details the deaths of over 1,000 woman and girls across the country, sharing court reports and other information.
It also details the level of violence faced by women through the 20th and 21st century. Irishman Danny, who uses the handle @Care2much18 on X, has organised similar maps for his homeland and Wales.
He told Glasgow Live he spent over 2,000 hours gathering the data after discovering no one had made a similar list before.
He said: “I started out just doing it for Ireland, mostly because when I went to try to find a list of women killed in Ireland, I discovered there weren’t any reliable lists.
“Some murders are infamous and end up on Netflix documentaries but the reality is most murders get very little media attention and are off the front page within a few days.
“I thought it would be interesting to try compile a list, so victims names, faces and stories are kept alive. Most of the lists I came across were of recent decades or only mentioned high profile murders in earlier decades.
“I focus mostly on newspaper archives, inquests and civil records, for dates of death and birth and also marriage records, so I can give the maiden name of women murdered by their husbands.
“Basically I try every avenue to try get as many names as I can find. I still have hundreds of names on my list to add for Scotland.”
The map includes unsolved murders such as the Bible John victims; Patricia Docker, 25, Jemima McDonald, 32 and Helen Puttock, 29, who were all killed in Glasgow in 1968 and 1969 after visiting the Barrowland Ballroom in the city’s east end.
It also includes notorious crimes which took place across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, from the murder of Melanie Sturton on Great Western Road in 1999 to the killing of former school assistant Alice Farquharson by her cop ex-husband in 2019.
Others include the shocking murder of Jill Barclay in Dyce back in 2022; a crime which left the city horrified as a 23-year-old man was jailed for life.
For Danny, it isn’t the unsolved murders that paint the bleakest picture of Scotland’s shameful record on violence against women – but the sentences handed down by courts.
He added: “It’s not just the lenient sentences but how many men didn’t even go to prison, whether suspended sentences or probation. There was also a lot of very sketchy reasons for being found “unfit to plead” and going directly to a mental hospital without trial.”
One of the most shocking could be that of 33-year-old Helen Mackie in 1988 in Bridge of Don, when the judge incredibly admonished a taxi driver for killing his wife on the tenuous basis the punch didn’t kill her, but hitting her head off a wall as she fell did.
Danny added: “‘Provocation’ in the legal sense of the word, between the 1920s and the 1990s included stuff like; Girl laughs at boy for poor sexual performance, wife abandons husband e.g. breaks up with him due to domestic violence, wife doesn’t do housework or cook dinner, woman flirts with man in front of boyfriend.
“Some of those involved a judge/jury accepting a man’s word for it. I know all of that is completely deranged but hundreds of men got away with murder with a defence of legal provocation and ended up serving only a few years for manslaughter (Ireland, Wales, England) or culpable homicide (Scotland).”
Danny posted the map to Reddit, with users sharing their own stories and shock at cases, with one user writing: “Good stuff. Important people pay more attention to violence towards women. It’s so commonplace we don’t ask ourselves enough questions about what sort of society we want to be.”
Another added: “I’ve got to say, the number or lenient sentences based on so-called insanity pleas are disturbing. It’s a small country, and to think I may have encountered someone with such a hideous past, someone who was given a “get out of jail free card” to carry on with their lives is really shocking.”
A third wrote: “Had to have a look to see if my aunty was on the list, yep.. You’ve done a lot of hard work there mate.”
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Dr Marsha Scott, CEO of Women’s Aid Scotland said: “Throughout history, the murders of women and children, especially in the context of domestic abuse, have attracted some media attention but very little serious response from Scotland’s so-called Justice system.
“The notion that “provocation” justifies murder reveals the archaic assumptions that still underpin every element of our criminal and civil justice processes. Sadly, in our systems, the phrase ‘No excuse for domestic abuse’ is really ‘Any excuse for domestic abuse.’
“There are signs that our social and professional worlds are changing, and we welcome improvements in policing, prosecution, and responses to domestic abuse deaths as proposed in upcoming legislation.
“However, sentencing in Scotland for domestic abuse is incredibly disproportionate to the harm and trauma caused by abuse. Victim-survivors often tell us they sometimes wonder why they bothered to report as the system’s response was at best a minor help and at worst put them in more danger.
“We need effective emergency protection orders, competent and speedy court functioning, and sentences that amount to more than unpaid community service, the equivalent of a slap on the wrist. We have a lot of work to do in Scotland.”
For anyone experiencing domestic abuse, a helpline is available 24/7 on 0800 027 1234 or on email, webchat and text – find out more at www.sdafmh.org.uk. It’s safe to speak to us.” Anyone wishing to view the map can do so here.