Man charged with murder of a mum and daughter

Sep 18 2009

A MAN has appeared in court charged with the rape and murder of a mum and her 10-year-old daughter.

Thomas Smith was in the dock for a preliminary hearing at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old is alleged to have carried out similar attacks on Diane and Holly Fallon at their home in Riverside Gardens, Cronberry, and also at neighbouring property between March 28 and April 8.

It is claimed he seized Diane, 43, by the body, bit her, then bound her hands behind her back.

Smith is then said to have removed her clothes and raped the mum before carrying out a separate sex attack.

It is alleged that Diane was murdered by receiving blunt force injuries to her head and body, before she had a ligature tightened around her neck.

Her daughter Holly – who was a pupil at St John’s Primary in Cumnock – is said to have been raped and murdered in an almost identical fashion.

Smith also faces two charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

It is claimed that he took Diane’s body in a car and dumped it in a field between Logan and the A76 Cumnock to Dumfries road.

Smith is said to have covered the body in grass in a bid to avoid detection.

He is accused of submerging Holly’s remains in water near Bellow Bridge in Ayrshire and concealing it under rocks.

Members of the mum and daughter’s family packed the courtroom as Smith made his first public appearance in the dock.

Smith’s counsel Victoria Young entered not guilty pleas on his behalf. She asked for a further hearing as defence inquiries were on-going.

Graeme Jessop, prosecuting, said the Crown were ready for trial, which could last up to 10 days. There are more than 80 witnesses listed on the indictment.

Judge Lord Bannatyne agreed to a further hearing and adjourned the case until November.