A woman, known for her malevolent actions, was discovered deceased after authorities responded to a call at a residence on Main Street in Ochiltree, East Ayrshire, around 7 a.m. on Thursday, April 4th. Claire Boyle, in her late 30s, had a history of convictions related to child neglect.
Among her past offenses, in February 2021, Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard a case where she severely neglected a four-year-old child, prompting concerns from doctors about potential serious medical conditions such as blood cancer or clotting disorders. The child’s plight was unveiled when he managed to escape Boyle’s flat, covered in bruises, by squeezing through a small gap in a window frame, dropping four feet to the ground, and wandering the streets in the rain clad only in pajamas. Police were alerted by concerned citizens, leading them to Boyle’s residence where she resided with her partner, Timothy Johnstone, who was 23 years her senior.
During February 2021, Claire Boyle’s case unfolded in Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, revealing her severe neglect of a four-year-old child. The extent of the neglect was such that medical professionals feared the child might be suffering from either blood cancer or a blood clotting disorder. This egregious mistreatment was brought to attention when the child, visibly bruised, managed to escape Boyle’s residence by slipping through a window.
The cot’s base had been dismantled and affixed to the top using belts from dressing gowns, ensuring the child’s confinement once inside. Despite Boyle and her 60-year-old partner, Johnstone, denying charges of child neglect, they were ultimately found guilty after a protracted trial.
While both individuals escaped incarceration, Boyle was sentenced to complete 250 hours of unpaid work. Strikingly, despite having two prior convictions for child neglect, Boyle was still entrusted with the care of the children in question. In 2014, at Ayr Sheriff Court, she received a Community Payback Order after being discovered unconscious on a couch, with a distressed baby nearby, likely due to intoxication from substances or alcohol.
In another case at the same court that year, she was given yet another Community Payback Order for attempting to sell the same baby for £1 million on Ayr High Street. Boyle, originally from Dumfries and Galloway, was also embroiled in several ongoing court proceedings.
In addition to facing two cases heard at Ayr Sheriff Court in February of the present year, she was slated to appear in Kilmarnock Sheriff Court in June for two further prosecutions. Despite assaulting a police officer and violating bail conditions the previous year, Boyle evaded punishment and was instead placed under the supervision of social workers.
Although she could have faced up to 18 months’ imprisonment for these offenses, Boyle was once again subject to a Community Payback Order, with no unpaid work imposed, effectively rendering the sentence without a punitive component. Boyle contended through her lawyer that her failure to sign in at the police station was due to her need to flee her home when her partner turned violent.
The cot’s base had been detached and fastened to the top using belts from dressing gowns, ensuring that a child would be unable to escape once placed inside.
Defense attorney Brian Holliman stated that she had to relocate to evade Johnstone following their avoidance of imprisonment for child neglect. Holliman informed the court, “She was fleeing an abusive relationship. She ended that relationship in October [2022]. On multiple occasions, she was reported missing or as a vulnerable person by her partner, Mr. Johnstone. When located by police officers, she exhibited challenging behavior towards them.”
Holliman added that she turned to excessive drinking as a coping mechanism and was intoxicated when officers arrived at her residence in Galston, East Ayrshire, on April 17 of the previous year to apprehend her. Resisting arrest, she vehemently protested, shouting ‘no, no, no,’ and even attempted to head-butt the officers. Despite their efforts to restrain her, she retaliated by kicking one of them in the stomach. Her bail terms mandated regular check-ins at a police station, which she failed to adhere to on March 31 of the same year, prompting officers to visit her residence in April for her arrest.
A spokesperson from Police Scotland reported, “Around 7 a.m. on Thursday, April 4, 2024, police responded to a property in the Main Street area of Ochiltree following the sudden death of a woman. No suspicious circumstances are believed to be involved, and a report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
