The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Medic found not guilty of killing her friend
COURT: Accused admits supplying and of being in possession of drugs
A medic has been acquitted of killing a friend by giving her a cocktail of drugs at a tattoo parlour.
Dr Katy McAllister, 31, was found not guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh of causing the death of pal Louise McGowan at Voodoo Tattoo in Perth Road, Dundee, in May 2015.
Prosecutors alleged Dr McAllister administered a number of powerful painkillers to Mrs McGowan.
The court heard Mrs McGowan had felt “anxious” about getting her body decorated.
The Crown alleged that the drugs taken by Mrs McGowan caused her to suffer a cardiac arrest which in turn led to her losing her life.
Mark Stewart QC, defending, said the prosecution had led insufficient evidence against his client and that the culpable homicide charge shouldn’t go before the jury.
Judge Graham Buchanan QC agreed with Mr Stewart’s argument and acquitted Dr McAllister on Wednesday.
This prompted crown lawyers to seek a 48-hour adjournment to consider whether they wanted to appeal judge Buchanan’s decision.
But yesterday prosecution lawyer Tim Niven Smith told the judge they did not wish to appeal.
However, McAllister pled guilty to being involved in charges of supplying or offering to supply diazepam and temazepam and to a charge of possessing magic mushrooms and a controlled drug called midazolam.
Dr McAllister, of Seafield Close, Dundee, will be sentenced at a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow next month.
On the second day of the trial, the court heard how Mrs McGowan’s husband Sean telephoned Dr McAllister in the early hours of Sunday May 10 2015 to say his wife had stopped breathing.
Dr McAllister, who was a family friend, arrived at the McGowan household shortly before paramedics arrived.
Paramedic Robbie Gray, 52, told the court Dr McAllister introduced herself to him and led attempts to resuscitate Mrs McGowan.
However, her condition didn’t improve and she was taken to Ninewells Hospital.
Dr James Bentley, 33, a senior registrar at Ninewell’s A&E department said Dr McAllister briefed him about her friend’s health.
The court heard that A&E staff couldn’t save Mrs McGowan’s life and she died at 7.50am.
In the hours following Mrs McGowan’s death, the court heard that police spoke to Dr McAllister and she was “quite tearful” and “agitated”.
Detective Sergeant Kerry Firkin said Dr McAllister told her she had given her friend advice.
She added: “She explained that Mrs McGowan had been having a tattoo and she had given her information with regard to pain management.
“This related to over the counter medication.”
Suspecting Dr McAllister had caused her friend’s death, they raided her house and found magic mushrooms and other medication.
They also seized a mobile phone belonging to Dr McAllister on which they found several messages, including one that read: “Well I got violin ‘til about half one so if you want to wander down for about one or quarter past one, let yourself in and take all the medicines on top of the cooker that I’ve left out – it’ll look a lot but at least four of them are different types – anti-sickness – rest will be paracetamol, brufin, codeine, tramadol, which are ones I tried with you already.”
The court heard how a pathologist had found tramadol in Mrs McGowan’s blood which was “twice the normal average fatal level.”
Yesterday McAllister pled guilty to supplying Dr Richard Bowditch with a quantity of diazepam at various locations in Dundee between July 2014 and March 2015 and to supplying temazepam and diazepam to John Mundy at various locations in Dundee between November 2014 and May 2015.
She also pleaded guilty to possessing magic mushrooms and midazolam.
Mr Stewart told the court that the quantities of drugs involved were small and that the magic mushrooms had a street value of £10 and the midazolam was worth 66 pence. Judge Buchanan adjourned sentence. McAllister will be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on June 27.