‘Extremely dangerous’ rapist jailed and man guilty of attempting to murder elderly mother in last week’s Inverness court hearing

The Inverness Courier reported extensive court activity during the second week of October.

Here’s a roundup of some of the cases that made headlines last week.

An “extremely dangerous” rapist who committed a string of sexual and violent crimes has been sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison.

Ryan MacDonald (31) committed offenses in the Sutherland, Inverness and Aberdeen areas between 2015 and 2020.

The charges included three counts of rape, as well as a number of sexual assaults and an assault causing injury.

READ MORE: ‘Extremely dangerous’ rapist jailed for 12-and-a-half years for crimes in Inverness, Sutherland and Aberdeen

A 53-year-old man has been warned he can expect a “long prison sentence” after a jury convicted him of attempting to murder his 78-year-old mother in a drunken attack on New Year’s Day last year.

The High Court in Inverness heard this was the second time Bruce Davis had been found guilty of such a serious offense. In 1987, as a 16-year-old, he was imprisoned for four years.

It took the jury just over two hours to find he tried to murder Thomasina McAskill, known as “Chrissy”, at her home in Smithton Villas, Inverness.

READ MORE: Inverness man found guilty of trying to kill his mother locked up over ANOTHER murder attempt when he was just 16

A church missionary who waged a campaign of domestic violence against his defenseless wife has been given a stern warning by a sheriff that he faces jail if he offends again.

Sheriff David Harvie described the case of Donald John Morrison, formerly of Old Edinburgh Road, Inverness, as “very disturbing” and expressed “deep concerns” about whether Morrison and his wife would get back together.

Morrison appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing after Sheriff Harvie convicted him earlier this summer of abusing and assaulting his wife between November 2022 and November 2023.

He was also found guilty by the sheriff of attempting to pervert the course of justice by writing template emails for her in order to have the case against him dropped, as well as breaching a special bail condition not to contact her.

READ MORE: Inverness woman experienced ‘very disturbing’ campaign of domestic abuse by church missionary

The sheriff praised the quick reaction of a taxi driver who managed to avoid a head-on collision with a BMW driving on the same side of the road as him.

However, despite saving him and his two passengers from serious injuries, the vehicle of 29-year-old apprentice bricklayer Arkadiusz Byczkowski crashed into the side of the taxi, causing minor injuries to the passengers.

Byczkowski appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court and admitted driving carelessly on the southern distribution road in Inverness on June 18 last year.

READ MORE: The taxi driver’s quick actions allowed him to avoid a head-on collision with a careless driver – the court ruled

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