Family must beg daughter's murderer

THE family of murder victim Claire Webster has been told they can only change the headstone of her grave with the permission of the husband who killed her.

The dead woman's brother, Peter Morris, said his family wanted to erect a new headstone in the village cemetery in Aberdeenshire where Ms Webster lies buried, erasing all references to convicted killer Malcolm Webster.

Mr Morris said he had been left outraged after being told by council officials that they would have to gain Webster's approval for any change to the lair.

The gravestone in the small rural cemetery at Tarves reads: "With loving thoughts of my dear wife Claire J Webster BSc died 27th May 1994 aged 32" and carries an inscription from Shakespeare's Merchant Of Venice which reads: "For she is wise, if I can judge of her, and fair she is, if that mine eyes be true, and true she is, as she hath proved herself, and therefore, like herself, wise, fair and true, shall she be placed in my constant soul."

Webster, 52, was found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow last month of murdering his first wife in a staged car crash in Aberdeenshire in 1994 and attempting to murder his second wife, Felicity Drumm, in New Zealand in 1999.

He is due to be sentenced on 5 July.

Mr Morris said the family wanted Webster's lies erased from the lair where Claire lies.

He said: "I have been told by the council authorities that he is still what they call the 'lair owner', and to change the headstone I would have to go to a convicted murderer and ask his permission to give the grave to me which I find a completely outrageous situation and something that I am not prepared to do.

"As far as I am concerned, when he was convicted of murder he should have lost all his rights to everything.

"He should have no rights to the woman's grave whom he murdered."

Mr Morris added: "Not only is he the owner of the grave - but he paid for the grave through the insurance money that he claimed after he murdered my sister.

"He planned to kill her from the day he met her. I have also been told that if I did approach him he might want to give the grave to me because it might get him a bit time off his sentence.

"I don't want him to get any time off his sentence.I think he is very dangerous man who should be in prison for the rest of his life, hopefully."

Mr Morris said he had been advised to take legal action to address the situation, but that the family wanted the Scottish Government to intervene to change the laws.

He said: "I want somebody within the Scottish Government to make a decision that this is a ridiculous situation and to give the grave to me and my family so that we can all achieve closure and so we can finally lay Claire to rest."

A spokeswoman for Aberdeenshire Council said: "We are bound by the terms of property law in regards to this issue.

"Permission to make changes to a gravestone should be sought for the registered owner of the lair.

"Aberdeenshire Council has no authority to approve alterations to personal memorials. Changes made without authorisation from the owner could result in legal proceedings between the parties involved."