Pensioner jailed for woman’s murder

A pensioner who murdered a woman in a brutal attack in her own home has been jailed for life.

Michael Taylor, 72, targeted 60-year old Elizabeth Muir, also known as Mackay, at some point between March 28 and 31 last year.

He beat her repeatedly and so severely that she died as a result of a number of significant head injuries, the Crown Office said.

She was found after two friends visited her Inverness home and discovered her body on the kitchen floor.

Taylor, from Inverness, denied the crime but was convicted of murder on May 18 following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to serve a minimum 16 years in jail when he appeared at the court yesterday, the Crown Office said.

Speaking after sentencing, Nicky Patrick, procurator fiscal for homicide and major crime, said: “Michael Taylor carried out a brutal attack which left a woman dead in her own home and her murder was a great shock to the local community.

“Despite denying the crime, the commitment of police and prosecutors ensured that he did not escape justice for his appalling actions.”

During the trial, the Crown said Taylor’s DNA was found on the body of Ms Muir and his fingerprints were found in her blood nearby.

Michael Taylor.