Scots woman whose half-brother strangled their mum to death fears he will come for her when freed from prison

A woman whose half-brother strangled their mother to death and hid her body under a caravan in Fife, fears he will come for her when he is released from prison.

Lorraine Bristow had to identify her 54-year-old mother, Carol Taggart, from a purple rose tattoo on her wrist because Ross Taggart had beaten her face so badly.

She has spoken about fearing for her life as she campaigned for a law change to stop him controlling their mother’s estate from his prison cell.

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The case will feature in a 5Star documentary called Countdown to Murder on Tuesday night.

Lorraine Bristow outside the High Court in Edinburgh in 2015. Pic: Neil HannaLorraine Bristow outside the High Court in Edinburgh in 2015. Pic: Neil Hanna
Lorraine Bristow outside the High Court in Edinburgh in 2015. Pic: Neil Hanna

Lorraine told the Daily Record she had already been subjected to attacks from Taggart before he murdered their mother at the family home in Dunfermline, shortly before Christmas in 2014.

Taggart will be eligible for parole in 12 years. He received a life sentence in 2015 and was told he would serve a minimum of 18 years in prison.

But Lorraine, who is married with two boys, says she has been struggling to sleep because of the nightmares about his release. She told the Sunday Express: “I fear for my life, 100 percent.”

Taggart, 37, was made executor of his mother’s £500,000 estate before he murdered her. The family home has been sold, but he remains in charge of her estate.

While the law prevents him from inheriting his mother’s property and other assets, he legally controls them from his prison cell.

He was found guilty of murder following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in November 2015.

He throttled his mother to death and left her with head injuries following an argument, then hid her body under an empty caravan at a holiday camp in Pettycur Bay in Kinghorn. He also reported her missing to police and persistently lied about his actions.

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After hiding his mother’s body, the court heard how Taggart bought new trainers and dated a girl he met online before watching a movie at the cinema.

He also pawned her jewellery and cleared out her bank accounts and spent money on cocktails and meals out.

Lorraine and her half-brother were brought up together as children with the same mother, but she said his behaviour started to change in his late teens after his father died in an accident.

She said he started stealing money and other items from the family and his behaviour caused rows, with Carol always taking his side, and it led to the breakdown of Carol’s relationship with Lorraine’s father.

With only Taggart and his mother living at home, he started to control her life and Carol changed her will to leave the bulk of her estate to him.

Police believe he killed his mother after she finally stood up to him, threatened to cut him out of her will and asked him to leave.

Countdown to Murder is on Tuesday at 9pm on 5Star.

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