Christopher McGowan jailed for at least 23 years for the murder of Claire Inglis in Stirling

A man who murdered his girlfriend in what was described as a “beyond sadistic” attack has been jailed for a minimum of 23 years.

Christopher McGowan, 28, violently beat and strangled mother-of-one Claire Inglis.

He also burned the 28-year-old with a lighter and jammed a wet wipe down her throat.

Ms Inglis sustained 76 injuries in the fatal attack, which left her with bleeding inside her skull and extensive injuries to her neck.

McGowan was handed a life sentence with at least 23 years behind bars at the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday.

Judge Michael O’Grady said: “To those who have not listened to the evidence in this trial, it is difficult to truly convey the utter brutality of the death you inflicted on Claire Inglis.

“By the time her broken and lifeless body was found, she had no fewer than 76 separate sites of injury.

“The fact is, this young woman was not only murdered; she was subjected to nothing short of torture.

“I shudder to imagine what her last minutes were like.

“To describe what you did as sadistic falls woefully short of the mark. It was beyond sadistic.”

Ms Inglis died at her home in St Ninians, Stirling, on Sunday 28 November 2021.

McGowan was found guilty last month following a trial at the High Court in Stirling.

He had initially claimed he had been acting in self-defence.

‘He should never have been in flat with my grandson’

McGowan was said to have a “long record of offending”, comprising some 39 previous convictions.

The court heard his relationship with Ms Inglis was “new”.

McGowan had previously been remanded in custody on charges including dangerous driving but was bailed to Ms Inglis’ home address a few weeks before the attack.

Four of the five bail orders in force against McGowan at the time of the murder were granted in little more than two months before the killing.

Speaking after the case, Ms Inglis’ parents criticised the decision to release McGowan to live at their daughter’s home.

Her father Ian said: “He should never ever have been put in her flat with my grandson and Claire – not with the criminal record he had.”

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‘You have shown not a flicker of emotion’

Judge O’Grady noted a background report which said McGowan had accepted full responsibility for the murder and had shown “remorse and regret”.

However, the judge added McGowan had gone to “great lengths” to “minimise and deny” his responsibility for Ms Inglis’ death.

The judge said: “And as for your remorse and regret, I have watched you carefully throughout these proceedings.

“Even in the face of the most graphic and distressing evidence, you have shown not a flicker of emotion, not a hint of distress, not a shadow of remorse.”

The judge said McGowan’s detailed account of the events of that night was a “self-serving tissue of lies and a grotesque distortion of the awful truth”.

He added: “It is that dishonesty which is the true measure of your remorse.

“As for the tears you shed at interview, I have no doubt they were shed for none but yourself.”

Young son ‘bereft and bewildered’ after ‘evil’ crime

The judge said Ms Inglis’ life “ended in pain and terror at the age of 28”.

He said: “I have in particular mind the victim impact statement of her young son who now spends each day lonely, bereft and bewildered, unable to make sense of why he must grow up without his mother.”

Judge O’Grady added: “It is often said in these courts – because it is always true – that no sentence a judge can impose can truly reflect the taking of a life.

“It cannot bring back one who is lost, or change the past, or turn back time.

“All it can do is, in some measure, punish the perpetrator and mark the horror and despair that all right-minded people feel when forced to confront the evil done by such as you.”

Following the court case, Moira Orr, Scotland’s Procurator Fiscal for homicide, said McGowan showed “cruelty and contempt” for Ms Inglis.

Ms Orr added: “As prosecutors, we have worked to deliver justice for Claire.

“The case was carefully investigated by COPFS working with Police Scotland, demonstrating that McGowan had displayed aggressive and controlling behaviour towards Claire prior to her murder.

“By not accepting responsibility for his actions, McGowan made Claire’s family go through the ordeal of a trial. Our prosecution team unpicked his deception, and this has resulted in his conviction for murder.

“Our thoughts are now of Claire, and we offer condolences to everyone who loved her.”