By Emily Caulkett-
A 29-year-old man has been found guilty of killing a stranger by picking her up and then pushing her off a pier. Jacob Foster attacked Charmaine O’Donnell at Helensburgh Pier, in Argyll and Bute, in April last year. Jurors at the the High Court in Glasgow heard Ms O’Donnell, 25, suffered severe neck injuries and drowned after she was pushed into the water. Foster was convicted of culpable homicide after a trial. He had denied murdering Ms O’Donnell.
His lawyers lodged a special defence of diminished responsibility, claiming the accused had an “abnormality of mind” at the time.
Charmaine O’Donnell suffered neck injuries and drowned after she was pushed into the water
A 29-year-old man has been found guilty of killing a stranger by picking her up and then pushing her off a pier.
Jacob Foster attacked Charmaine O’Donnell at Helensburgh Pier, in Argyll and Bute, in April last year.
Jurors at the the High Court in Glasgow heard Ms O’Donnell, 25, suffered severe neck injuries and drowned after she was pushed into the water.
Foster was convicted of culpable homicide after a trial. He had denied murdering Ms O’Donnell.
His lawyers had lodged a special defence of diminished responsibility, claiming the accused had an “abnormality of mind” at the time.
But jurors found Foster guilty of culpable homicide by picking Ms O’Donnell up and carrying her, before pushing her off the pier.
Jacob Foster told a police officer at the scene that it was “just a bit of fun”
The trial heard that Ms O’Donnell had gone to Helensburgh with a friend, Caitlin McTaggart, on 23 April last year to enjoy the good weather.
The pair began chatting to three men fishing and Ms McTaggart, 25, said it appeared Foster was trying to get involved in the conversation.
She told the court that neither she nor Ms O’Donnell knew him.
Commotion
The jurors heard there had then been a “commotion” when Ms O’Donnell was pushed over the railings at the pier and someone shouted to Ms McTaggart: “That’s your pal.”
Stephen Cairns, who was one of the men fishing that day, told the court he remembered speaking to the women and Foster also being there.
The 42-year-old told jurors Ms O’Donnell had been standing at railings at one stage.
He added: “I turned around and saw the accused pushing the girl over the railing.
“He pushed her with both hands.”
Charmaine O’Donnell Image:facebook
PC Gary Davidson told the court that Foster had been “quite agitated and talking a lot” when he arrived at the pier.
The officer said Foster had told him: “I just pushed her, it was just a bit of fun.”
The trial also heard from several teenagers who tried to help Ms O’Donnell after she was pushed into the water.
One of them said he had noticed the woman’s shoe floating in the water and “a bit of blood”.
The charge against Foster said Ms O’Donnell had hit the pier structure and the water after being pushed, causing her to ingest water and severely injuring her.
Culpable homicide involves causing the death of another person by acting unlawfully but with no intention to kill.
They offence covers scenarios in which the perpetrator assaults their victim with the intention of causing injury, but not to kill them.
There must also not have been “wicked recklessness” – which is usually based on the actions of the accused and the severity of the injuries suffered by the victim.
Deaths can also be treated as culpable homicide rather than murder if the accused was found to be of “diminished responsibility” because of some mental illness, or where there was provocation