Missing lady tied to chair by carers

A missing disabled woman was tied to a chair and assaulted by her carers before being murdered, a court has heard.

Margaret Fleming was reported missing in October 2016 from her Inverclyde home, but had not been seen since December 1999 when she was aged 19.

Carers Edward Cairney, 76, and Avril Jones, 58, are accused of murder, abduction, and fraudulently claim- ing £182,000 in benefits while living in her home.

A court has heard they claimed the benefits by pretending to Department of Work and Pensions officials she was still living at her home on Main Road in Inverkip.

They are accused of assaulting Ms Fleming between 1 November 1997 to 5 January 2000 by tying her to a chair and cutting her hair on multiple occasions.

Both face two charges of defeating the ends to justice and are accused of destroying or concealing Ms Fleming’s personal effects between 18 December 1999 until 26 October last year.

The other charge of defeating the ends to justice relates to trying to board a train to London from Glasgow Central Station on 25 October 2017 while carrying £3,500 in Irish bank notes and the keys to a safe deposit box that contained £27,000. They deny all the charges. Judge Lord Hugh Matthews presides over the trial, which is expected to last up to eight weeks.