A father has said that a woman who tried to murder his young daughter by giving her adult medicines should never be set free. Laura Docherty, 35, was jailed for six years at the High Court in Edinburgh after dosing the little girl with antidepressant and painkilling drugs, which resulted in the child needing to be resuscitated and placed on a hospital ventilator during the prolonged abuse.
However, the judge also imposed an Order for Lifelong Restriction on Docherty, which means she can be held in prison for a far longer period. The girl's father, a 31-year-old construction worker who is not being named, said Docherty is not only a danger to children but also to other adults and should never be set free.
Father's fears for others
He said: "I don't think she should be released or let out. If she can do that to a child she can do that to anyone she wants. She can do that to an elderly person, a future partner or a family member. She is very cunning and very good at hiding stuff. To attempt to murder an innocent child, is worse that attempting to murder an adult. That is quite sick in the head to do that. She is just an evil lassie."
The father, who lives in the Calders area of Edinburgh, was at work in 2023 when he learned Docherty had been charged with trying to poison his daughter. Up to then, he was baffled as to why she was constantly unwell. He added: "The police had accused Docherty of giving my child drugs. I was told they had found the drugs in her pee."
Investigation and evidence
The father says his daughter is now being looked after by his mother at her home in the West Midlands. He added: "They found all the evidence on Docherty, what she had been searching up, what she had been getting, what she had been hiding. Between 2022 and 2023 the doctors could not put their finger on what was happening to my child. My daughter had to be resuscitated in an ambulance when she was being taken to hospital and that was when they decided to do the toxicology reports and found all the drugs in her system."
He said: "I couldn't understand why she was sick all the time. I thought she maybe just had a weak immune system or a cold. She would just take sick all of a sudden and want to go to sleep all the time. She was a good eater but at that point she didn't have much of an appetite. I was wondering why." The girl's grandmother, who is 54, said: "She is quite fit and healthy and doing really well."
Sentencing and restrictions
Docherty, from Glenrothes, Fife, had denied attempting to murder the child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, but was unanimously convicted of the crime. She gave the young girl Amitriptyline, Propranolol and Dihydrocodeine on various occasions between April 2021 and February 2023 at a house in Edinburgh, the city's Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and elsewhere. The High Court in Edinburgh heard that as a result of taking the medication, the child, who was aged two when the offending began, suffered seizures and episodes of reduced consciousness. The victim was admitted to hospital and was subjected to "unnecessary medical investigations and procedures".
Judge Michael O'Grady KC told Docherty: "When you are released, if indeed you are ever released, will be a matter for the Scottish parole board. The word 'wicked' is an old fashioned word, but there are times when no other word will suffice. You deny your guilt. You accept no responsibility. You show no remorse or insight." The judge had previously described Docherty as manipulative and cunning. A court report said she had an emotionally unstable personality disorder.
The judge made a non-harassment order prohibiting Docherty from contacting or attempting to contact her victim. A judge imposed an Order for Lifelong Restriction on Docherty and ordered that she must serve a minimum term of six years' imprisonment before she can seek to apply for parole.
