Death of obese jailed blackmailer was not preventable
THE death of a con woman who drove a mother and daughter to suicide over a blackmail plot could not have been prevented, a sheriff has ruled.
Linsey Cotton died while serving a jail term for “menacing” and duping Margaret and Nicola Mcdonough.
The tragic pair killed themselves after Cotton convinced them that they would be killed or jailed for life for breaking a non-existent confidentiality clause relating to a person she had made up.
Cotton, 33, was found unwell in her cell at HM Prison Edinburgh in March, 2016. She was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where she died. Following a fatal accident inquiry at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Sheriff Alison Stirling has ruled that she died from a pulmonary embolism – blood clots in the lungs.
Deep vein thrombosis, which Cotton had suffered from, and obesity were also listed as factors in her death.
The inquiry heard Cotton, who weighed more than 18 stones, had repeatedly complained of breathlessness while in prison but doctors had difficulty diagnosing what was wrong with her.
However, Sheriff Stirling ruled that the pulmonary embolism occurred “suddenly and without warning” and there were no reasonable precautions which could have been taken by prison or medical staff to prevent the death. Issuing her judgment, she said: “Although Ms Cotton was a young woman, she had a number of significant health issues.
“She suffered from obesity, type 2 diabetes, gout, menorrhagia, hypothyroidism, asthma, chronic pain and anxiety. She had had deep vein thrombosis during pregnancy in 1999. She frequently suffered from breathlessness in the weeks before she died. Because of her multiple health issues, diagnosis was difficult”.
The mother-of-two, from Addiewell, West Lothian, was only six months into a three-year sentence for conning the tragic pair, who were so convinced by Cotton’s lies that they thought suicide was their only option.
She created a character called Stephanie Wilson or Johnstone and convinced the mother and daughter, aged 52 and 23, that they faced jail or even murder for talking about a medical trial she claimed the fictitious Stephanie was linked to.
In desperation at the threats, Margaret, who was a foster carer and former Lib Dem council candidate, and Nicola, a social work graduate, formed a suicide pact and took their own lives at the Premier Inn in Greenock in May 2013.
Over the course of a year, Cotton had tricked Margaret’s son Michael out of £5,000 and expensive gifts, including an engagement ring.
Jailing Cotton Paisley Sheriff Robert Fife branded her a “wicked” liar who had duped the family.