Further tests for man accused of vicious attack

Stephen Brisbane to be evaluated again after alleged hand dismemberment

The case against a man accused of chopping off a disabled Dundee woman’s hand in a brutal Valentine’s Day attack has been continued again.

Stephen Brisbane is alleged to have carried out the attack in the early hours of February 14, severing pensioner Sandra McGowan’s hand from her wrist and stealing items from her house.

The 33-year-old appeared at the High Court in Glasgow for a further preliminary hearing yesterday.

However, the court was told the additional psychiatric reports required would not be available until December 10 at the earliest.

Mrs McGowan is said to have passed out from the pain of the attack, which the Crown accuses Brisbane of committing in her sheltered housing complex on South Road in Charleston.

Defence counsel Mark Stewart QC said his client was “anxious the matter was resolved in as rapid a progress as possible”.

Brisbane, who is detained at Carstairs State Hospital, is accused of entering Ms McGowan’s home, demanding drugs and money, searching her handbag and purse and stealing various items.

He is further accused of assaulting the pensioner, causing her to fall from her wheelchair, seizing hold of her wrist and severing her hand with a knife, causing her to lose consciousness.

Prosecutors claim Brisbane then took the hand away, robbed Miss McGowan of a ring and failed to seek medical assistance for her.

He is also accused of threatening his sister with violence at an address in Dundee, demanding her mobile phone and stealing a phone.