Murderer had been left £500k in will of mother he strangled

Dunfermline: Sister is certain killer forced parent to change her will

A woman who was brutally murdered by her own son said she wanted to leave the bulk of her £500,000 estate to him as thanks for supporting her through illness.

Carol Anne Taggart, 54, was strangled to death and had her body buried under a caravan at Pettycur Bay by her son Ross Taggart.

Taggart, 33, attacked his mother at the home they shared in Dunfermline then sparked a missing person inquiry by claiming to police she had stormed out of the house following a row.

He was jailed for a minimum of 18 years at the High Court in Edinburgh after being found guilty of the December 2014 murder.

His sister, who was cut out of the will, now says the killer is stopping her getting hold of family mementoes and she is campaigning for a change in the law.

Miss Taggart’s newly-published will reveals she showered praise on her son for caring for her through a period of illness and wanted him to have the majority of her fortune – although he is banned from receiving any money.

She gifted him her £300,000 home in Dunfermline, its furniture and her childminding business.

In the will she wrote she was leaving him the assets “in consideration of the fact that during my illness Ross has stayed with me and supported me and in so doing given up a large part of his freedom and activities”.

Miss Taggart’s daughter Lorraine Bristow, who was cut out of the will, is campaigning along with other family members to have a legal loophole closed which allowed the killer to be appointed as executor of her estate.

He cannot personally receive any money under Scots law but has control over decisions relating to the estate and has refused to allow the family access to the house to retrieve mementoes.

Mrs Bristow, 29, said: “I am certain that Ross forced my mum into writing this will.

“She had a number of different wills throughout her life but it was changed so he got most of the money.

“My mum was a very vulnerable woman and Ross played on that to try and get to her money.

“She had suffered from depression for a number of years and said she had cancer but it was proven at the trial that this was not the case.”

She added: “He has control over her estate and is stalling on selling the house.

“It’s awful to have to live with. This is not about money for me. I just want into the house to collect some belongings and get it sold so I can close this chapter in my life.”

The total value of Miss Taggart’s estate was recorded as £486,396. Her other wealth included a £160,000 life insurance policy and cash held in several bank accounts.

She instructed that the remainder of the estate should be passed to her other son Daniel, who lives in Manchester.

The documents reveal Miss Taggart wrote the will in March 2013.

My mum was a very vulnerable woman and Ross played on that to try and get to her money. LORRAINE BRISTOW

The caravan, left, at Pettycur Bay under which the body of Carol Anne Taggart, top right, was found after she had been murdered by her son Ross Taggart, right.