Freed to kill: Thug ticked off for raging domestic violence in Scotland moves to England and murders his new partner
Aviolent abuser who went unpunished after attacking his Scots girlfriend moved to England before murdering his next partner.
Andrew Highton was put in the dock after grabbing Michelle Cunningham around the throat and smashing up her home in Grangemouth.
But, despite having a string of previous convictions that included one for domestic abuse against Michelle, Highton walked free from court with just an admonishment.
After the slap in the wrists from a sheriff, Highton moved to England and earlier this year murdered his next partner, Linda Treeby.
Last month he was jailed for life for murdering school caretaker Linda at a caravan park in Skegness where they were supposed to be celebrating her 64th birthday.
He repeatedly kicked her and smashed her face with a heavy glass ashtray, leaving her with 34 injuries.
Yesterday, mother-of-two Michelle, 44, said: “That could have been me.
“I always knew one day he would kill, but I thought schemes were in place to make sure other women were protected from known domestic abusers.
“I’m so sorry for Linda’s family. They must be utterly devastated. I truly believed that after he attacked me others would be warned so he couldn’t destroy more lives.”
Highton’s first domestic abuse conviction involving Michelle came in 2010, when he was found guilty of a breach of the peace for shouting and screaming at her, and then breaching bail conditions by attempting to contact her. He was sentenced to 18 months’ probation at Falkirk Sheriff Court.
In December 2011 he went berserk inside Michelle’s flat, smashing down two doors to try to get to her and grabbing her around the throat before she was rescued by police.
But, in court, he was admonished by Sheriff Craig Caldwell.
Nursing assistant Michelle spent almost five years living in terror of Highton, 51. She said: “Andy could be quite a charmer when he wanted to.
“It was like living with two very different people. One could be kind, generous and loving. The other had a raging temper. He would throw food at the walls, smash furniture and literally foam at the mouth with uncontrollable anger.
“I endured almost five years of his explosive moods, rages and controlling behaviour. I’d tried to get him out of my life several times, but he always managed to worm his way back in with pathetic begging and crocodile tears.
“But the day he smashed through two doors to try to get me, something inside me just snapped and I called the police. I truly believe if he’d managed to get to me, he would have killed me that day. “Luckily the police came just in time.” Michelle said she was never asked to give evidence, and was never told how the court had dealt with Highton.
She said: “I was told he’d left Grangemouth and wouldn’t be back. It was as if someone had lifted a huge burden from my shoulders. I was finally free. But I see now that my freedom from him came at a terrible price for another poor woman and her family. I’m devastated to hear the system failed to stop him and mark him down as a dangerous domestic abuser.
“Instead they left him able to kill another woman. Something needs to be done to ensure this never happens again.”
Last month Highton, from Nottingham, was jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 18 years for the murder of mum-of-three Linda.
His record revealed 17 convictions, for violence and arson. These included a
series of convictions dating from before he attacked Michelle – including an 18-month youth custody sentence for arson, a conviction for common assault and criminal damage and a breach of the peace.
Highton had called Michelle to beg her to lie about his abusive behaviour for a “background report” he claimed was being done so he could get access to Linda’s grandchildren and family.
Michelle said: “I said there was no way I’d lie to cover up what he’d done because I’d never subject another woman to what he put me and my family through. Nobody ever contacted me. If only they had, maybe Linda would still be alive.”
After Highton left Scotland, Michelle rebuilt her life, went to university and graduated with a degree in community education, something she says Highton would never have let her do.
She said: “With him gone out of our lives, my girls and I finally felt free to be ourselves again. I’m just very angry the system that is supposed to prevent that kind of behaviour continuing failed to protect the poor woman he murdered.
“There’s not much point in having a system if it can’t track an abuser from Scotland to England. We need to find out why it failed and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Nottinghamshire Police is one of four forces in the UK that carried out pilot schemes from 2012 to roll out Clare’s Law. Named after mum-of-one Clare Wood from Salford, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2009, the scheme allows police forces to inform concerned families about the abusive past of any new partner by making an official disclosure application.
Detective Chief Inspector Clare Dean, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Our sympathies are with the family of Linda Treeby and all those affected by her tragic death.
“As per established procedures, a multiagency domestic homicide review has been commissioned in relation to this case.
“Nottinghamshire Police will be fully supporting that review, the findings of which will be published in due course after being shared with the family.”
Detective Superintendent Debbie Forrester, head of Police Scotland’s Domestic Abuse Taskforce said: “Tackling domestic abuse is a priority for Police Scotland and we work with a range of partners to raise awareness of the help available, to identify risk and to support victims.
“Our officers and staff are trained to look beyond physical abuse and to identify and investigate the full range of abusive behaviour, which can include physical violence but also the emotional, psychological and financial abuses now offences under the new Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act.
“Domestic abuse, like other genderbased violence, is under-reported. We would encourage people to report. We will listen and we will take action.”
When he left Scotland, I felt a huge weight had been taken from my shoulders. Now I see my freedom from him came at a terrible price for another poor woman and her family. How can that be allowed to happen? Why did no one warn her? Why did no one ask me? – abuse victim Michelle Cunningham