Isabell Carvill and her 16-year-old daughter Gemma Valenti have become the first mother and daughter in Scotland to be convicted on the same murder charge after killing a man during a house party in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, in July 2002.
The victim, 32-year-old local man Kenneth Finnie, had approached the women shortly after they arrived at the party, which was being held to celebrate the host's big win on the horses. It was later claimed he subjected them to inappropriate and indecent comments, and persisted in his unwelcome approaches even after the trio made clear they were not interested.
Finnie followed two of the women into the toilet, where the violence escalated. One of the women smashed a glass into his face, shattering his jaw in three places. Valenti then pulled out a knife and thrust it deep into Finnie's chest, puncturing his heart.
Attack continues despite pleas to stop
As Finnie lay on the ground dying, people shouted at the three women to stop, pleading "enough is enough". The violence continued, with the trio kicking, punching, and stamping on him, and smashing shoe heels into his face. One fetched a bottle and smashed it into his skull, leaving him unconscious in a pool of his own blood.
Carvill then knelt over the victim, appearing to check his pulse and thump his chest in a vain bid to revive him. Police were called and were shocked at what they saw. None of the women denied the attack when taken to a nearby police office, and their blood-soaked clothes were taken for forensic examination.
Family history of violence
When medically examined by the police surgeon, Valenti joked about the ordeal, referencing her aunt Frances Carvill, who had been convicted of murdering 66-year-old Daniel Currie in Glasgow in 1993. Frances Carvill died eight years later in Cornton Vale women's prison in Stirling, having taken her own life.
The three women stood trial at the High Court in Hamilton in June 2003, where legal history was made. Lawyers for all three said their clients had difficult lives and upbringings which could have explained, in part, the violence that night. During the four-week trial, Carvill turned up drunk one day and Black twice slept in.
Sentences handed down
Until three weeks before the murder, Valenti had been staying in a children's home, which her QC Jock Thomson described as the "happiest period of her young life". He added: "Gemma has expressed sorrow and remorse about the death of Mr Finnie. Whatever he did, he didn't deserve to die."
Before sentencing at the High Court in Edinburgh, the trial judge Lord Bracadale noted the attack was not premeditated and came against a background of offensive remarks. He told Valenti: "The jury must have accepted that you personally stabbed Kenneth Finnie and the evidence demonstrates that you were the most vicious in the punching, kicking, and stamping on him."
Valenti was ordered to serve at least 12 years in prison before she can apply for release. Her mother was given life and told she must serve 10 years. Isobel Black, 38, was jailed for seven years for attempted murder, having originally been charged with murder but convicted of a reduced charge.
Carvill and her daughter were dubbed "She Devil and her Spawn" because of the violence and brutality of the attack. Both mother and daughter ended up in the same prison where Gemma's aunt had taken her life.
After the case, Finnie's mother Margaret, 64, said: "I am not happy. They should never get out at all. We have still not got over Kenneth's death and probably never will." Her husband Alex, 63, added: "The sentence was pure rubbish. It doesn't matter they are all women - life should mean life."
