A woman who tried to murder a toddler by repeatedly giving her adult medication is facing a rare life sentence for showing no remorse.
Laura Docherty’s actions were branded “utterly reckless and breathtakingly wicked” by a judge, with the offender additionally described as “dishonest, manipulative and cunning”.
A court heard how Docherty, 35, gave the girl antidepressant and painkilling drugs from the age of two, resulting in her needing to be resuscitated and placed on a ventilator.
Judge Michael O’Grady KC said the offender was willing to throw the child’s life away “for nothing more than the drama of the moment, and the attention you seem to seek at every turn”.
Indeed, Docherty posted a string of carefree TikTok videos while standing trial for the attempted murder – with one captioned “#makemefamous”, and another featuring the eye-roll emoji alongside the wording “court again”.
In a later clip, she is seen lip syncing along to Dirty Dancing’s (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.
And in another, captioned “#court #screwedup”, she lip syncs to a dance remix of Celine Dion’s Because You Loved Me.
Docherty, formerly of Glenrothes in Fife, denied any wrongdoing, but was convicted of the murder bid in December following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
She was remanded in custody pending a background report and was due to be sentenced on Wednesday.
However, highlighting the prepared report, defence advocate Simon Gilbride told the court his client adheres to her position at trial and “has no insight into her behaviour and accepts no responsibility for her actions”.
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An accompanying psychiatric assessment reported that she suffers from an “emotionally unstable personality disorder”.
Judge O’Grady voiced his concerns over Docherty’s “pathological desire for attention”, and said had it not been for the medics in the case, the defendant would most likely have been facing a murder charge.
He also noted she “shows no empathy” for the child and instead “considers herself to be the victim”.
Given the “many troubling aspects” of the case, Judge O’Grady requested an assessment for an order for lifelong restriction (OLR).
An OLR is a life-long sentence usually reserved for the most serious court cases in Scotland that do not involve murder.
Docherty carried out her crime against the child between April 2021 and February 2023 at an address in Edinburgh, at a ward at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, and elsewhere.
She assaulted and attempted to murder the girl by repeatedly administering drugs which were medications not prescribed for her.
As a result, the victim suffered seizures and episodes of reduced consciousness.
She had to be resuscitated, admitted to hospital, put on a ventilator, and was subjected to medical investigations and procedures.
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Judge O’Grady previously acknowledged Docherty’s “troubled and unhappy life”, but stated: “Whatever your own trials and tribulations, whatever the turmoil in your own life, what you did to her was utterly wicked.”
He added: “It is impossible to forget the sight of a young child, who should have been in the flower of her childhood, prone in the back of an ambulance, desperately struggling to breathe, desperately struggling to hang on by a thread to life.”
The case is scheduled to call again on 16 June.
