A KILLER has been jailed for the “frenzied” hammer and knife attack murder of a Gweedore woman in Scotland.
Ann Coll (61) was bludgeoned and stabbed by a neighbour who she let into her home so they could watch TV together at Christmas three years ago.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that brutally murdered Ann was a mother-of-three on unemployment benefit who was killed for money by her debt-ridden friend.
Her attacker Claire Kilduff (40) was today (Tuesday) sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow to a minimum of 21 years’ jail.
Crazed killer Kilduff confessed in court on Monday to the gruesome killing that she carried out on December 22, 2023.
Ann’s devastated family issued a statement after the sentencing to say they will never recover from her loss.
The Coll family explained Ann’s death had “shattered” them and said: “We live every day with a grief that cannot be measured and a loss that can never truly heal.
“Our mother was more than a victim. She was a loving mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. She was the person we turned to for comfort, guidance, and strength.”
They added: “The way she died has made our grief even harder to bear.”
Ann, pictured, was born in Glasgow but her parents were from An tArd Donn in Gaoth Dobhair and visited the area frequently throughout her life.
She still has loved ones, including her sister, nieces and nephews around Gaoth Dobhair.
The judge, Lord Paul Andrew Arthurson, described the family’s accounts as “heart-rending victim impact statements from her grieving daughters, son and grand-daughter”.
He said: “As one eloquently expressed, their lives will never be whole again.
“This crime can be characterised as a frenzied and sustained episode of multi-instrumental violence.
“Your victim’s injuries were catastrophic, extensive and horrifying.”
He said it was a “cold-blooded and intentional murder carried out for financial gain” and that “defenceless victim” Ann had “no idea about the savage, merciless and murderous attack which you were about to unleash upon her”.
The court heard that Ann was found in her bedroom days before Christmas 2023 with at least 21 blows to the head and seven stab wounds to the neck, back and chest.
Kilduff lied in a 999 call that she had found Ann in a pool of blood in the flat.
She then accused another woman for the crime – but Kilduff eventually pleaded guilty, just days before she was due to stand trial.
The court heard that the women had been friends as well as neighbours, and often walked their dogs together.
Kilduff owed money to others and Ann agreed to transfer Stg£320 (€370) from her account into that of her friend Kilduff.
It was also stated that Kilduff knew how to access the banking app of innocent victim Ann, who was on benefits at the time of her killing.
She lived alone with her dog Lola when she was murdered.
Her lawyer told the court: “Kilduff repeatedly struck Ann Coll with a hammer causing extensive blunt force trauma injuries to the head and neck.
“The blows caused extensive fractures to Ann Coll’s skull. Kilduff repeatedly stabbed her with a knife.”
Kilduff was arrested in February 2024 after her phone was examined.
The court heard that a number of Google searches were made on her on the night of the attack.
These included “deadliest stab wounds”, “stab wound to the neck”, “hammer to head injury” and “killed by single blow to head”.
Police searched an underfloor cavity in Kilduff’s flat nearly a year later and found a hammer and knife with Kilduff’s DNA and traces of the victim’s blood.
Scottish police Det Supt Lynsey Watters described the killing a “violent and shocking attack” and expressed hopes that the Donegal-based family can find some comfort.
She said: “While no outcome can truly ease the pain of their loss, we hope this sentencing will bring some comfort to her loved ones as Kilduff faces the consequences of her actions.”