Dingwall woman who scarred best friend with a knife in row over boyfriend detained for 14 months
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A cocktail of drugs and alcohol fuelled horrific attacks on two teenage girls, physically scarring one of them for life – and leading to a 14-month period of detention for a Dingwall woman.
Caitlin Moth slashed her best friend twice across the face from her nose to her jaw with a knife in a row over a boyfriend who had been unfaithful.
The attack by the now 19-year-old woman occurred just two months after she was released by police. She had been arrested on August 16, 2020 for a nasty sustained assault on a girl who was dragged screaming from her house into a back garden.
Despite a powerful and emotional plea by lawyer Greg Cunningham not to jail his client, Sheriff Gary Aitken sent first offender Moth to a detention centre for a total of 14 months.
However he paid tribute to Mr Cunningham's mitigation which he said persuaded him not to make sentencing consecutive.
The Sheriff also reduced the headline sentence of 21 months by a third after hearing of the efforts Moth had made to turn her life around.
Moth of Macrae Crescent, Dingwall had previously admitted an assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement and an assault to injury.
Mr Cunningham told the court: "This is a different girl today than the one she was back then. The background for both was drugs, alcohol, teenage girls, boyfriends and infidelity and I don't seek to trivialise the offences.
"But there has been a change in her life as this is a young woman who took her own steps to get help. She is not just pleading mercy. She was in crisis, a lost girl.
"Her mother was a heavy drinker and her brothers were involved in drugs, giving her easy access. She lost her childhood. However she is doing everything she can to bring that chain of events to an end.
"When I showed her the photograph of what she had done to her best friend, she almost had a full blown panic attack."
Sheriff Aitken commented: "But her friend has to see the result in the mirror every day from now on."
The Sheriff told Moth: "It is to your credit that the steps you have taken to turn your life around. But actions have consequences. You were released on bail by police after one grave offence of violence which was bad enough.
"But then just two months later, you committed a second more significant grave offence of violence with a weapon. Both have had an impact on the victims' lives."
"She lost her childhood. However she is doing everything she can to bring that chain of events to an end. When I showed her the photograph of what she had done to her best friend, she almost had a full blown panic attack." - defence agent Greg Cunningham
Fiscal depute Robert Weir said the first incident occurred after Moth had been drinking in Invergordon. He said she got a taxi to a house in Cnoc Place, Dingwall after making snapchat threats towards another girl who lived there and accused the girl of sleeping with her boyfriend.
"Moth then dragged her by the hair through the property and outside into the garden, screaming for help, causing a significant wound to her head", Mr Weir said.The second incident on October 21, 2020 occurred when Moth had again been drinking and phoned her second victim.
"They were throwing all sorts of threats at each other," Mr Weir went on.He added that the second victim went to the property and was confronted by Moth who had a kitchen knife.
"There was an altercation, the two females were on the ground for a few minutes and Moth slashed the other with the knife. She had a 2cm wound running from the left side of her nose down to her upper lip. "The second was 5cm in length, starting from the left corner of the mouth and running down towards the angle of the jaw. She received nine stitches and will likely need more," Mr Weir added.
