Thug stabbed his ex then tried to blame an intruder

A MAN who brutally stabbed his former partner in a murder bid claimed that an intruder was behind the attack.

Blood-stained David McCraw told police that he had been out at the shops for ten minutes and returned to find Anne Reed covered in stab wounds in their former home in Edinburgh.

Terrified Ms Reed had earlier begged McCraw to stop the knife attack and repeatedly told him that she would tell officers a burglar was responsible.

McCraw, 44, continued with the cover story at a police station in Edinburgh, but when the victim arrived at hospital she named him as her attacker.

The unemployed bricklayer admitted attempting to murder Ms Reed at their former home in Muirhouse Gardens, on 19 July last year, when he appeared at the High Court in the city yesterday.

Advocate depute Leanne Cross said the couple had a relationship for about three years but Ms Reed said she had decided to end it about a month before the attack.

Defence solicitor advocate Robbie Burnett said it was not "one-way traffic" in the volatile relationship between the couple.

The judge, Lord Uist, agreed to continue his bail and called for a background report on McCraw before sentencing.