Perth barmaid found in carpet killed by neck injury

Louise O’Brien, 36, may have lain undiscovered for several days before a neighbour at a tenement block on Dunkeld Road, Perth, raised the alarm in April.

Police sealed off the property while forensic teams tried to establish her final moments.

Her partner David Anderson has been charged with her murder and will appear in court in due course.

Investigators are still trying to pinpoint how Miss O’Brien died.

According to her death certificate, the cause has been recorded as “presumed pressure on the neck”. A further note adds: “Laboratory investigations pending”.

It has not been established when Miss O’Brien died, but the certificate states she was found dead at about 12.25am on April 29.

The grim discovery came as a shock to neighbours who said Miss O’Brien was “full of fun” and great company.

A message on a bouquet of flowers left at her door read: “She was a friend and she was beautiful”.

One resident said Miss O’Brien was well liked. “Louise was always such a good laugh,” he said. “I’d meet up with her for a drink now and again. Everyone got on with her.”

Until about six months before her death, she was a barmaid at the city’s Royal Bar.

Miss O’Brien, who has a son, is originally from the Edinburgh area, but moved to Perth seven years ago.

Her flat in the southern end of Dunkeld Road, directly opposite St Catherine’s Retail Park, overlooks the city’s police headquarters.

Anderson, 41, of Perth, appeared in private at Perth Sheriff Court days after Miss O’Brien’s body was discovered.

He is alleged to have killed her by seizing hold of her neck and compressing it.

Anderson is accused of killing his partner sometime between April 24 and 28.

A date for his next court appearance has yet to be set.

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