Boy, 15, admits attempted murder of pensioner in Montrose

The boy admitted a charge of attempted murder at the High Court in Edinburgh

A 15-year-old boy has admitted trying to murder a pensioner in her Angus home by repeatedly stabbing her with a knife from her own kitchen.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, inflicted multiple wounds on the 85-year-old woman during the attack in Montrose last September.

A court was told that the woman would never feel safe in her home again due to the incident.

The boy admitted charges of assault and attempted murder.

Sentence was deferred at the High Court in Edinburgh until June for the preparation of reports.

The boy also admitted entering the woman's home uninvited and robbing her of £80.

Advocate depute Gavin Anderson said the teenager was earlier made the subject of a care order by a court in England and placed in the care of an English local authority.

Under supervision

He stayed in care settings before becoming resident at a school in Scotland in 2020 where he was under supervision.

Mr Anderson said that his previous convictions included offences of possessing a weapon and for battery.

The teenager broke free from a staff member at the Scottish school after stating that he was planning to return to England.

Staff searched for him and police were alerted.

After the attack, police found a bloodstained knife in the vestibule of the cottage and other knives on a kitchen worktop where the teenager had put them before the attack.

They also found a sledgehammer on a chair which he had brought to the cottage.

The court was told officers arrested the teenager after seeing him walking on the A92 at Montrose in the early hours of 16 September.