Scot ruled fit to stand trial over killing of her 'abusive' partner

Andrea Carr, 35, had been expected to avoid trial after being ruled "mentally incompetent", but a court has decided she is able to face charges.

Carr, whose mother lives in the Dumbiedykes area of Edinburgh, is said to have admitted killing her abusive lover, William Polen, at their Ohio home on 9 December, 2008.

She is said to have waived her right to a jury trial and faces a prison term of 18 years to life if convicted.

The former Oxford University student claimed her partner had been physically abusive throughout their two-and-a-half-year relationship. It has emerged she told police that on the night of the killing Mr Polen had threatened her because she made an "unauthorised stop" at a fast food outlet after a shopping trip.

Carr, who is from South Queensferry, moved to the United States about 13 years ago after marrying an American and having a daughter with him. She then began a relationship with Mr Polen, with whom she has a 16-month-old son.

Carr was ordered to a psychiatric hospital after pleading not guilty to Mr Polen's murder on the grounds of insanity, but doctors have now decided that she is well enough to understand the allegations against her and to assist in her defence.

However, her lawyer, Sam Ferruccio, told the Stark County Court there remained reports indicating his client was insane at the time of the incident.

Hope Konovsky, the assistant county prosecutor, said: "Basically, what your mental state is right now at the time of the trial may not be the same as your mental state at the time of the incident."

According to papers filed with the court, Carr shot her partner just above the left ear and later slit his throat after it appeared he was still alive and moving.

Carr told police that Mr Polen was upset she had made an "unauthorised stop" at a fast-food outlet. She said he had called her names and threatened to break her arms if she did not do what she was told.

Carr said she went to bed at about midnight, but then got up at about 2am, retrieved a gun from a cabinet and shot Mr Polen while he slept on the sofa.

She said she later drove around for 45 minutes contemplating suicide.

Carr's mother, Anne Mill, declined to comment on the latest development yesterday.

However, she was reported as saying previously that her daughter had been the victim of domestic abuse. "She told me he attacked her and the baby. He even beat her when she was pregnant. But I think she just snapped.

"She was worried about the baby's safety. She told me he pushed the baby over and kicked him. She was terrified of him."

If found not guilty by reason of insanity, Carr could continue to be held in a secure mental facility.

The US supreme court has refused to review the case of a British woman on death row in Texas for killing a young mother.

The justices yesterday rejected an appeal from Linda Carty, who was convicted of kidnapping and killing a woman whose child she also snatched in Houston in 2001. She was sentenced to death in 2002.