The family of a Stirling care worker stabbed to death by a resident are pressing the justice secretary to re-introduce a female high-secure facility in Scotland.

They spoke exclusively to STV News because they feel “angry and let down” as the equivalent of the State Hospital at Carstairs does not exist for women, leading to lengthy delays and distress for them throughout the judicial process.

Michele Rutherford’s husband William and daughter Amy have raised the issue with MSPs and ministers but claim to have received an “entirely unsatisfactory response”.

Mrs Rutherford, 54, was killed by Kellyanne McNaughton on March 7, 2023, at Craighall Court in Stirling after failed attempts to get the 33-year-old psychiatric help.

Speaking exclusively to STV News, Amy said: “We can’t be the first family this had happened to. She (McNaughton) can’t be the first woman in Scotland with mental health issues to commit such a crime.

“So why is there not somewhere in place (in Scotland)? It just seems like someone has missed the mark.

“My mum was just the best person. She loved her job and she was always going above and beyond for her work.”

The only “high risk” facility in Scotland is the State Hospital at Carstairs in South Lanarkshire, which caters only for men.

Mrs Rutherford’s family attended multiple court hearings over six months, where they learned there had been failed discussions about transferring McNaughton to two clinics, as well as the Rampton Secure Hospital in England.

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