A MANIAC was held responsible for the death of a woman in a Scottish town who drowned after being pushed off a pier.
29-year-old Jacob Foster pushed Charmaine O’Donnell and subsequently said it was “a bit of fun.”
On April 23, 2021, the 25-year-old charity worker drowned and died as a result of severe neck injuries.
Foster was found guilty of culpable homicide today after a trial at Glasgow’s High Court.
The killer, who has a learning handicap, was charged with murder.
His attorneys had submitted a unique defence of reduced liability.
Foster, who is also from Helensburgh, had his bail extended until his September sentence.
Charmaine, from Glasgow, and her friend Caitlin McTaggart spent the day at Helensburgh.
I had planned to travel to the Campsies where there is a waterfall, Caitlin, 25, told the jury.
She refused since, in essence, she would have fallen into the water.
After some hesitation, the young women decided against travelling to Largs in Ayrshire and instead boarded a train for Helensburgh.
As Foster hid nearby, they started talking to the fishermen at the dock.
Children had also been diving into the water to learn how to swim.
Caitlin remembered hearing a “commotion” out of the blue.
She claimed that “someone” had jumped the pier railings.
While Caitlin was originally unaware of who it was, someone yelled, “That’s your pal.”
When she turned to look, she was horrified to see Charmaine in the water.
Many of the kids there tried to help right away.
Caitlin was questioned by prosecutor Alex Prentice QC: “Did you say anything to Jacob?”
Caitlin: “I yelled at him to assist her. He kept asking himself, “What have I done? This time, I’ve gone too far. I will be gone for a while.”
Police and paramedics arrived quickly, but Charmaine did not make it.
A 42-year-old man who went fishing that day was Stephen Cairns. Foster pushed Charmaine over the edge, he recalled.
So, with her back to Jacob, who then shoved her with both hands? Mr. Prentice
Stephen: “Yes. Then it was simply mayhem.”
PC Davidson, Gary
When she turned to look, she was horrified to see Charmaine in the water.
Many of the kids there tried to help right away.
Caitlin was questioned by prosecutor Alex Prentice QC: “Did you say anything to Jacob?”
Caitlin: “I yelled at him to assist her. He kept asking himself, “What have I done? This time, I’ve gone too far. I will be gone for a while.”
Police and paramedics arrived quickly, but Charmaine did not make it.
A 42-year-old man who went fishing that day was Stephen Cairns. Foster pushed Charmaine over the edge, he recalled.
So, with her back to Jacob, who then shoved her with both hands? Mr. Prentice
Stephen: “Yes. Then it was simply mayhem.”
After the verdict, it became known that Foster had a history of convictions, including one for assaulting a member of the staff at a Helensburgh Costa Coffee in 2018.
Charmaine was on leave from her position as assistant manager at a British Heart Foundation store at the time, Mr. Prentice informed the court.
A week after she passed away, she was scheduled to return.
The advocate deputy said, “It is obvious how much she was loved, and her passing has caused many and ongoing sorrow.
Many of Charmaine’s family members and friends, who were present in huge numbers today in court, cried in relief at the guilty judgement.
Her mother Jacqueline Gallacher, 50, and stepfather William King, 54, made an emotional announcement following the incident and insisted that “justice had been done.”
