Pregnant teenager who murdered a stranger is named
A WOMAN who murdered a teenage man while she was pregnant and high on cocaine and alcohol has been named – after she turned 18 in jail.
Jolene Doherty was aged just 17 when she stabbed Conner Cowper, 18, in the neck at a house party and left him to bleed to death.
She could not be named during her trial at the High Court in Glasgow last year due to her age.
Her identity has been revealed after she marked her 18th birthday yesterday. Eighteen is the age at which statutory anonymity in Scotland falls away. Doherty gave birth in prison after being remanded following the murder in April 2018, in Holytown, near Motherwell.
She had a reputation for violence from the age of 11 when she was filmed punching an autistic boy who attended the same school as her.
Footage which provoked national outrage showed Doherty punching the lad in the face five times.
The boy can be heard saying: “I don’t hit lassies.”
Doherty then urged him to hit her, which he refused to do before she lashed out once more.
She was kicked out of the secondary school following the attack in 2013, which was shared widely on Youtube and Facebook at the time.
At her sentencing hearing, the High Court in Edinburgh was told Doherty had a history of violence, including possession of knives, and had left home aged 15.
She had met Conner Cowper only hours before she killed him at a house party in Holytown, North Lanarkshire, on April 14, 2018.
At her trial, it was said that she had tried to play him off against another man.
But she lost her temper when Conner called her a “stupid wee girl”.
A judge jailed her for life with a minimum term of 16 years on January 10.
Asked about her, a former neighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “She was a nice wee lassie.
“She was always polite to me. “I was quite surprised when I found out about it.
“It’s a shame – she was pregnant.” The family of Conner Cowper were too upset to comment when approached.
Doherty’s mother, Janet Hunter, was approached for comment.
But her partner said the family would not be speaking publicly.