A woman has spoken of her relief after a jury at the High Court in Inverness acquitted her of killing her sister.
Jane Forey told the Press and Journal that the unanimous verdict of not proven would allow her to “start to grieve” for her late sibling Susan Hendrickson.
Speaking moments after the verdict was returned, Ms Forey said: “I never did anything wrong in the first place.”
The 61-year-old had denied a charge of culpable homicide, stating that she acted in self-defence when she pushed her sister Susan during an altercation at their Gleanspean Park home in Roybridge on January 11 2022.
‘Bare minimum force’
The jury was told that Ms Hendrickson “flew at” her sister during an argument.
Defence counsel Graeme Brown told them: “A push on the body was the bare minimum force that could have been used by Jane Forey.
“It was a push, it was self-defence.”
Ms Hendrickson, 56, died from a bleed on the brain two days later at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
The trial had heard how Ms Forey had called friends and told them “I killed my sister” in the aftermath of Ms Hendrickson’s death.
But a post-mortem examination found “no evidence of an assault” being the cause of Ms Hendrickson’s fatal bleed on the brain.
Forensic evidence
Dr Gemma Kemp, from the University of Glasgow’s forensic medicine department, told the court that Ms Hendrickson had been suffering from the effects of alcoholic liver disease, which had reduced her blood clotting abilities.
Ms Hendrickson’s death was attributed to a subdural haematoma due to a head injury sustained during a fall. Her alcohol-related liver disease was given as a contributing factor.
In his closing speech, Mr Brown pointed out to the jury that feeling guilt about the death of her sister did not make Ms Forey guilty of a crime.
He said: “Jane Forey told her friends about the guilt she was feeling.
“It is not for Jane Forey to judge her own actions – that is for the 15 of you.”
The jury took under three hours to return a unanimous verdict of not proven to the single charge.
Two further charges alleging assaults against Ms Hendrickson and Ms Forey’s partner, Nick Gash, had been withdrawn by the Crown.
‘I never did anything wrong’
Speaking outside court, Ms Forey said: “I never did anything wrong in the first place. I told the truth, which is what landed me up in court.
“At the end of the day, it is a total unanimous decision by all 15 jurors and the truth is out.
“My sister, I looked after her. I just wish people could realise the effects, and the ripple effects, alcoholism has on people – it can be devastating.”
Praising her legal team, she said: “I have to say that Natalie Paterson and Graeme Brown were excellent.”
She continued: “It’s two-and-a-half years that this has been hanging over my head, knowing you have done nothing wrong – it is such a relief.
“I can now start to grieve for my sister and my mother because I lost them both and I can now move on with my life.”