The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Life for mum and son who killed trespasser
A mother and son who acted with what a judge described as “venom and a desire for revenge” when they murdered a man who ran across their land have been jailed.
Carol Dawson, 72, and son Scott Dawson, 41, pursued a bitter vendetta against the “essentially harmless” marathon runner Gary Dean.
The 48-year-old was shot in the back with an air rifle and repeatedly beaten with rocks and branches in a pre-meditated attack which the mother and son plotted in response to his use of their land.
A judge at Sheffield Crown Court said that the killing had been carried out with “brutal determination”.
A jury heard how the pair had been in a furious dispute with Mr Dean, who is believed to have been on the autistic spectrum, after he started using a footpath by his home in Silkstone Common, Barnsley, which had been bought by the defendants.
The mother and son attempted to have their victim prosecuted, and spread malicious, false rumours about him, including that he had attempted to lure children into the woods with him, prosecutors said.
On the morning of September 6, the pair lay in wait and, after Mr Dean’s wife had gone to work, carried out the killing.
They showed no reaction yesterday as they were both handed life jail terms, having been convicted on Friday of murder after a five-week trial.
Scott Dawson, of Allotts Court, Barnsley, was told he would serve a minimum term of 31 years, while his mother, of Stonewood Grove, Barnsley, will serve a minimum of 26 years.