Evil killer who went on cocaine spending spree after murdering woman with claw hammer at Scots home jailed for 24 years
FRENZIED ATTACK Evil killer who went on cocaine spending spree after murdering woman with claw hammer at Scots home jailed for 24 years
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A GREEDY fiend who battered a mum to death in her own bed so he could steal her cash was caged for life yesterday.
Desperate Owen Grant, 43, bludgeoned defenceless Keshia Donaghy, 32, to death with a weapon, believed to be a claw hammer.
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Keshia Donaghy was murdered in her own bed by twisted Owen Grant
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Owen Grant boasted about being locked up for setting someone on fire
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Keshia mum paid tribute to her after Owen Grant was convicted
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Owent Grant will spend at least 24 years behind bars
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He never revealed why he carried out the horrific attack but it's claimed he was skint and desperately wanted the £770 he'd seen her count at her flat in Elgin, Moray.
His murder trial was told that after killing the mother-of-two he went on a spending spree with a wad of cash and splashed out hundreds of pounds on cocaine.
As he caged Grant for at least 24 years, Lord Scott told him: 'The attack was exceptionally savage and frenzied.
"The reasons for this brutal murder remain unknown, but appear almost certainly to have been related to money."
Keshia mum Amanda Gow admitted she was heartbroken.
She said: 'Life without Keshia will never be the same.
'She was my only daughter and my first born. Her two daughters will have to live their lives without their mum.
"I still cannot get my head around the fact that she is gone and that her life was taken in such a brutal way.'
Keshia was found dead at her ground floor pad hours after neighbours heard a row and someone shouting 'no, no, no'.
It was claimed that at first her bloodied body was missed because it was dismissed as a mop.
She was eventually found lying face down after being clubbed repeatedly with a weapon that's never been recovered.
Friends revealed she had been getting close to violent jailbird Grant who had been caged for eight years in England for arson to danger of life.
They said he had boasted to them about being sent away for 14 years for setting someone on fire.
Jurors at the High Court in Edinburgh were told Grant had tattooed Keshia daughter's name on her wrist. While her friends told how he'd cooked a meal for her as they spent more and more time together.
But shortly before she died Keshia sent a text saying she no longer trusted him and vowed to stay away from him.
Grant owed her £300 and claimed he'd gone to pay his bill on the night she was killed in November 2023 but didn't get an answer at the door.
Officers later found his bloody handprint on her bedroom wall as well as his passport lying in the flat.
Prosecutor Christopher Wilson KC said that at the time of the murder Grant had just over £12 in his bank account and couldn't pay his rent.
He told jurors: "My suggestion to you is the accused had run out of money. A drug habit and a lack of money is a bad combination."
Grant was seen on CCTV putting a bag in a bin after the killing and buying cigarettes and drinks at a Scotmid store with a large amount of cash in his wallet.
While he later turned up drunk at a woman's address and gave her £200 to go and buy cocaine.
No money was recovered when officers searched Ms Donaghy's home following the murder.
Grant denied the murder and claimed: "I never laid a finger on her."
He described the killing as "disgusting" and "horrible" and claimed he was devastated by Keshia death.
Jurors took three days to find him guilty of murder by a majority.
Detective Superintendent Lorna Ferguson said: 'My thoughts remain with Keshia family and friends as they continue to try to come to terms with what happened. I hope the verdict will bring them some form of justice.
'This was a complex inquiry and I would like to thank the local community for their patience and assistance throughout our investigation.
'Grant now faces the consequences of his actions.
'Violence such as this is never acceptable in our communities and we will work tirelessly to ensure those responsible are brought to justice."
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