A woman whose brother strangled their mother to death has criticised the Scottish Government for failing to close a legal loophole which has let him control his victim’s £500,000 estate for eight years.
Lorraine Taggart Bristow is calling on MSPs to change the law which allows Ross Taggart to legally remain in sole charge of their mum Carol-Anne’s estate. Taggart, 38, attacked his 54-year-old mum at the home they shared in Dunfermline and hid her body under a caravan.
He then sparked a missing person inquiry by claiming to police she had stormed out of the house after a row. He was jailed for a minimum of 18 years at the High Court in Edinburgh after being found guilty of the December 2014 murder.
In her will, Carole-Anne had made Taggart executor of her estate and bequeathed the bulk of her wealth to him. While Taggart can’t profit from his mum’s death as a result of his murder conviction, he has refused to resign as an executor and retains control over all decisions relating to the estate.
It comes after the Sunday Mail revealed how William Kelly, who killed his mum Cathy by setting her on fire in Ayrshire, took four years to give up control of her estate.
Lorraine, 34, from Dunfermline, said: “It has been eight years since my mum died and nothing has changed. This is morally wrong and, even after a consensus of people thinking the law needs to be changed, the Government has not done anything.”
Carol-Anne left her son the £300,000 home, its furniture and her child-minding business. The total value was £486,396.
After her mum’s death, Lorraine was forbidden from being able to collect items of sentimental value from the house. But in January 2019, Taggart gave her a week to do so before the contents were sold.
In August 2020 Carol-Anne’s detached four-bed home was sold for £297,200. Lorraine, who runs a dance school, added: “Ross won’t give up control.”
Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said: “Lorraine’s case is tragic. Automatically removing murderers as executors of wills seems an eminently sensible move.”
The Scottish Government said: “We remain committed to reforms that would prevent a person convicted of murder from assuming the role of executor to their victim’s estate.”
Taggart’s legal representatives did not respond to request for comment.
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