A MAN has been jailed for a minimum of 23 years for the murder of his new girlfriend in Stirling weeks after being bailed to her home.
Christopher McGowan, 26, was found guilty on Thursday, 28 September following a trial at the High Court in Stirling.
He was sentenced on Wednesday, 25 October at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Inglis died at her home in Cultenhove Crescent, St Ninians on Sunday, 28 November, 2021 after being attacked by McGowan.
Judge Michael O'Grady said McGowan's actions were "beyond sadistic" as he issued a life sentence with a minimum of 23 years.
He said Inglis had suffered "nothing short of torture".
She sustained 76 injuries during the attack, including lighter burns, a number of blunt force impacts to the head and face, extensive bruising to almost her entire skull, and strangulation, with a wet wipe down her throat.
O'Grady added: "It was difficult to portray the brutality of what you inflicted on her. You have shown not a flicker of emotion, distress or remorse."
"It is clear that you have accepted no responsibility and you have gone to great lengths to minimise your involvement."
McGowan had 40 previous convictions, including three for assault and during the trial claimed he had been acting in self-defence but this was stance was withdrawn during the trial.
A taxi driver told the trial he had picked up McGowan and Inglis the previous evening in Stirling.
David Addison, 35, was asked how McGowan had spoken to Inglis and he replied: "It was horrible, not nice, the tone of his language. It was very demanding."
Addison said in his police statement that after Inglis left the taxi, McGowan said under his breath: "I'll kill you."
Her parents are now looking after her young son.
Scottish Women's Aid's chief executive Dr Marsha Scott believes the system failed badly when it came to Inglis.
The week Inglis was murdered, politicians at Holyrood held a minute's silence to remember women and girls killed at the hands of men and their partners.
Scott said: "Any system that considers itself competent around domestic abuse should have had their red flags going off.
"It should have thought before bailing him to that address. The answer isn't to take the most vulnerable people in society and make them more vulnerable."
After Inglis's death, the local community in Stirling rallied round to fund a bench in her memory.
The plaque on it says: "We Will Look For You in Rainbows."
