Margaret was 10 when she was placed into care in Aberdeen and, on her first night in the Morrice’s home, she was scared.
Sandra and William Morrice ushered the girl into their room and asked what was up. “I’m sad and want to go home to my mum,” came the reply.
The response stunned Margaret and set her down a path that would lead her to try to take her own life twice.
Sandra told the youngster: “You are in this house because nobody ****ing wants you. It’s here or you will stay with the nuns. Now get back to your ****ing bed.”
“I just went back and cried,” said Margaret, giving evidence on the stand at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
She was among seven brave victims who were abused between the 1970s and the 2000s and who told their story over the three-day hearing.
William and Sandra Morrice became foster carers in the 1970s, first at a house in Bucksburn and then two houses in the Bridge of Don.
To the community, they were big-hearted carers who transformed the lives of hundreds of vulnerable youngsters.
In 2003 Sandra spoke of how she and William – known as Bill – became foster parents because they had “plenty love to share”.
She said: “My husband and I had no family of our own and it felt like something was missing.
“We just felt we had plenty of room and plenty of love to share. We are a good team.”
But for the abused children they were supposed to be looking after, those words rang hollow, with Sandra and William referring to youngsters as “commodities”.
‘She hit you in places where nobody would see marks’
The first known victim was just five when William sexually assaulted her between 1974 and 1976.
We are calling her Philippa, and she is now a 54-year-old financial worker.
This is what she told the court.
“I grew up in Aberdeen and was taken into care aged four.
“The first thing I remember at the Morrice house is Sandra found out I wet the bed sometimes and smacked me – then said ‘if you wet the bed you will get more of that’. It made me scared.
“I was already upset because I had been taken away from my mother.
“I stayed there from four to 19 and there were always lots of children and lots of physical violence – from both Bill and Sandra.
“Sandra would hit you in places nobody would see and would scream at you, pull your hair and call you a tart, a slut and a waste of time.
“Bill would wait for Sandra to go out before assaulting the children.
“When I was five he took me into his bedroom and performed a sex act on me. I was terrified.
“It makes you feel dirty and ashamed of yourself.
“He only stopped because Sandra came home.
“When Sandra was out on a Saturday afternoon, Bill would put on wrestling on TV.
“He would pretend to be Big Daddy and wrestle with the children.
“He used that as an excuse to sexually abuse me and other girls. It happened weekly.
‘Sandra made two children fight til they had black eyes’
“At night he would hit children with a slipper or a belt.
“I learned to pretend to be asleep. If you’re not seen, you’re not hurt.
“I had to listen to other children being attacked, which was emotionally distressing.
“I remember Sandra egging on a boy as he pulled a girl’s hair out.
“The two of them would end up with black eyes. Sandra was sitting laughing.
“We were on a knife edge all the time. She was a horrible bully and she was meant to be the one who gave us care.
“I was adopted at 12 by the Morrices. I’m not sure why.
“I was too scared to raise it with anyone. I learned to keep quiet and didn’t see social workers that often.
“I wish I had the strength to have come forward earlier. It would have stopped a lot of children from being abused and that makes me sad.
“In 2020 I went to see the council to get my fostering record and, when they saw who my foster carers were, they referred it on to the police, which led to these charges.
“It has affected me a great deal. It made me think nobody liked me and that I was ugly. It knocked my confidence.”
‘She punched the disabled boy if he slavered’
The second victim who spoke is a 48-year-old woman who works in sales. We are calling her Margaret.
She suffered at the hands of William between 1985 and 1995.
“I was taken into care in Aberdeen aged eight and moved to the Morrice’s house at 10. I left at 17.
“I just remember it being manic and very noisy.
“That first night when Sandra told me nobody wanted me. I just went back and cried.
“One of the boys had cerebral palsy. Sandra would punch him in the back if he slavered.
“Matthew was punched a lot. He has learning difficulties. Sandra knew to slap, punch and kick our arms and back so nobody would see marks.
“Bill would hit me with a slipper and another girl seemed to be their easy target.
‘I knew his Big Daddy routine was sexual and intentional’
“On Saturdays, Sandra would get her hair done or go on a night out so Bill would have the house to himself.
“We had to clean the house spotless in the morning and Bill would come home from work at lunch and turn on wrestling.
“He would be Big Daddy and lie on top of us. We knew it was sexual and it was intentional.
“Other times he would ask to sit on his lap while he played with my hair. Again, it was obviously sexual.
“He used to kiss us a lot with tongues. He did it to quite a few of the girls.
“It was disgusting. I could taste his cigars. It only stopped when I was in my late teens because one of the boys was getting stronger and Bill and Sandra got scared of him.
“When I was 15, Sandra told me I was being adopted. I didn’t get a say.
“I was just told ‘we’re changing your whole name. Pick a new first name.’ And one of the other children chose my new middle name.
“To me, it was a house of horrors.
“One time I spoke to a social worker about Sandra’s behaviour – and she went straight to Sandra. It all got put down to me ‘being a disruptive child’.
“I didn’t come forward after that. I had already been told by Sandra that nobody would believe me because ‘I was a delinquent child’.
“I was scared I’d be sent to the nuns if I told anyone what was happening.
“I had counselling aged 18 and police spoke to me in 2020.
“All this affected me hugely. I tried to take my own life twice.
“I struggled to tell my own husband what had happened and this will be with me for life.”
Children were ‘commodities’
The court was told the couple exploited the council system for fostering and turned it to their financial advantage.
Behind the scenes, Sandra referred to the children as “commodities” because the more they got in, the more money they could squeeze from the taxpayer.
Retired social worker Susan Sloane, now 75, told the court: “They fostered a huge number of children.
“They were among the busiest foster carers in Aberdeen.
“Their house was definitely too busy.”
The Morrices launched a childminding service, and children overheard them talking about how it would be good if they could foster disabled children because they commanded a higher fee.
The third victim who gave evidence in court is 41-year-old Matthew, who has a learning disability.
Bill would say ‘I’m a dirty wrestler’ and assault boy
He was abused by William between 1992 and 2003.
“I grew up in Aberdeen and lived with the Morrices aged nine.
“Sandra and Bill were pushy and aggressive.
“On Saturdays, he would put wrestling on and act like he was one of the characters.
“He put me in a headlock and say ‘I’m a dirty wrestler’. It was painful.
“If you stepped out of line even a little bit, Bill would throw his slipper at you and say ‘take a telling, laddie’. I was scared.
“There was a black boy who stayed with us and there was a bit of racist abuse from Sandra towards him.
“During my time there I told a social worker I had a problem coping with staying with Bill and Sandra but nothing happened.
“I stayed there until I was 19.
“My time there has made me very anxious. Both Sandra and Bill were scary.
Police inquiry went nowhere
“In 2004, I went to the police and gave a statement, but nothing progressed.”
Susan Sloane also told the court she complied with the request of a Grampian Police detective in 2004.
The detective wanted information about children the Morrices had fostered. However, for unexplained reasons, these inquiries went nowhere.
The fourth person to give evidence was Jacob, a 38-year-old professional worker from Aberdeen.
His name did not appear on the indictment, though he gave evidence to the court in which he alleged criminality towards him and others by the Morrices in 2000 and 2001.
“I was placed in a children’s home when I was aged eight. I think it was around 1995.
“I ended up with Sandra and Bill at their three-storey house in Bridge of Don, for about two years.
“The house was chaotic. Sandra was nasty. There was physical violence against the children on a lot of days.
‘She refused to let me see my mum’
“My mum wanted to visit me, but Sandra wouldn’t allow it, which was very disturbing for me.
“There were two occasions that I told social workers about the violence in the house and the way children were being treated it. Nothing came of it.
“From then on, I didn’t raise it as they didn’t tend to believe me.
“My time there was terrible. It affects me even today.”
The fifth victim was Stewart, a 29-year-old manager from Aberdeen.
He fell victim to the Morrices in 2000 and 2001.
“In all, I was in that house for about a year, when I was five.
‘We had to resort to urinating in a bin’
“There was always a lot of people in the house. The atmosphere was angry and a lot of shouting matches.
“If we were deemed to be misbehaving, we would be prevented from eating at meal times.
“I shared a bedroom with another boy. Bill would shout at us to ensure we didn’t leave our bedroom.
“It scared the hell out of us. A couple of times it meant we were prevented from using the toilet and we had to resort to urinating in a plastic Ikea bin.
“At other times, Sandra would place me in isolation, by locking me in a room. I was left there for a long time.
“My memories from that time are – I was angry and unhappy.
“When I left, I felt relief because my next foster parents were magnificent.”
Toby, now a 48-year-old professional, was the sixth victim to give evidence.
He was also not listed as a victim on the indictment, but told the court the Morrices abused him when he was 14.
“I was in the house for about three years. It was always chaotic. There were just so many people and some of the children had complex needs.
“From day one you could possibly tell it was a bit toxic.
“It is difficult to forget my first night.
“I came back at 11pm – an hour late and Sandra told me: ‘Do that again and you will be put out with the black bags you arrived with’.
‘I told my social worker but there was no action’
“There was shouting every day and children would get slapped and punched for absolutely nothing.
“Whenever Sandra walked into the room, Matthew would be physically shaking.
“It was alien for me to visit my friends’ houses because everything there was so normal.
“I wouldn’t bring anyone to my house at the Morrice’s because I would be too embarrassed, in case anything kicked off.
“I told my social worker what was going on and, though it didn’t lead to any action against the Morrices, the social worker got me out of there at 17, into my own flat.
“The way Bill and Sandra were definitely helped make a clear argument for me being able to move out.
“The experience there has affected me throughout my life.
“Even preparing for this court hearing brought back that gut-wrenching feeling I had when I saw Sandra’s car coming round the corner into the street.
“I knew she would be home soon and feared what would happen.
“This feeling upset me and angered me – because the control is still there.”
‘We had to eat on the stairs as we weren’t family’
The final victim to give evidence was Cassandra, 34, who comes from a different part of the UK.
She was a victim at the Morrice’s home between 1991 and 1994.
“I was born in 1989 and put into care aged two with my older sister, who was two years older than me.
“When I arrived at the Morrice’s house, I remember feeling quite scared and alone.
“Sandra didn’t want us there and we were always reminded that we weren’t family.
“We were never allowed to sit at the dining table. She told us ‘you are not family, you can’t sit with us’. Instead, we ate while sat on the stairs.
“They went to the beach without us. I lived so close to the coastline but didn’t know it existed.
‘He tied me to the bed with a thick rope’
“I was scared of Bill because he would hit us with a red tartan slipper. It feels like it happened daily – not to punish us, just to keep us in line.
“One time Bill tied me to a bed by my arms with a thick rope. I don’t know what happened after. I don’t know if I was left to sleep like that.
“I was scared and confused. In my head it’s like a short video clip.
“Sandra would call my sister ugly. My sister has mental-health problems today and I think it’s from how we were treated from a young age.
“Sandra and Bill were on the same page, working together.
“I questioned why they even had us there if they didn’t like us.
“As a teenager I really struggled. I tried to take my own life a few times.”
“I’ve had therapy. Now I’m a bit more resilient.
‘We are not allowed sweets, mummy’
“I’ve always felt like I’m not worth anything, like I can’t be loved.
“My husband has been very patient with me. I don’t know if that will ever get better.
Cassandra’s mother gave evidence about how she raised the alarm to social workers in 1995.
The 54-year-old woman said: “Before they went into that home, my two girls were quite bubbly. That all changed.
“One time I visited them and gave them sweets and they said: ‘Please take it home, mummy, we are not allowed them’.
“They would say concerning things like they had to sit on the stairs to eat.
“I said it to the social workers and she would say ‘the children are just saying things’.
“After the girls came back into my care, they told me everything that happened so I phoned the council.
“They just dismissed it and said the girls lied. We kept going but they took no action. It wasn’t followed up.”
A spokesperson for Aberdeen City Council, which replaced Grampian Regional Council in 1996, said: “Legal proceedings on this matter have not yet reached a conclusion. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment at this stage.”
If you would like to comment on this story, you can call our investigations reporter Dale Haslam on 01224 344 169 or email dale.haslam@ajl.co.uk