Mother of dead student confronts convicted Edinburgh drug supplier

A YOUNG man who avoided jail yesterday for supplying Class A drugs to a student who later died was confronted by the dead man's angry mother as he left Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
Scott Mckerral, pictured with his mother, was  found guilty of supplying class A drugs to French student Antoine Maury, 21, whose body was recoverd from Duddingston Loch in December last year. Picture: Lisa Ferguson.Scott Mckerral, pictured with his mother, was  found guilty of supplying class A drugs to French student Antoine Maury, 21, whose body was recoverd from Duddingston Loch in December last year. Picture: Lisa Ferguson.
Scott Mckerral, pictured with his mother, was found guilty of supplying class A drugs to French student Antoine Maury, 21, whose body was recoverd from Duddingston Loch in December last year. Picture: Lisa Ferguson.

Laura Vesterinen-Maury, whose son Antoine Maury was found dead in Edinburgh’s Duddingston Loch in December last year, did not accept, as Sheriff John Cook had, that Scott Mckerral was remorseful.

As a relieved Mckerral, 20, from Campeltown, left Court 2 flanked by his parents, he was followed into the corridor by Antoine’s mother and asked if he would speak to her.

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She said: “If you have shown remorse, why have you not shown any to me? Will you speak to me now?”

Mckerral was pulled away by his mother who said: “How dare you,” to Mrs Vesterinen-Maury, who had travelled from her home in France for the sentencing. She replied: “My son is dead.”

A female police officer stepped between the parties bringing the brief confrontation to an end.

Mrs Vesterinen-Maury said later: “I can see that in the circumstances it might be difficult for a young man to speak to me and to my family direct.

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“But he could have written to us care of the police, or via his defence lawyer.

“Or he could have sent us a message on social media, which he uses frequently and where, frankly, there have been few signs of remorse, or even that Antoine’s death has had any effect on him.”

Sheriff John Cook told Mckerral that he would not jail him even though a custodial sentence for the supply of Class A drugs “might be considered appropriate”.

Mckerral had pled guilty by letter to being concerned in the supply of a fungus containing psilocin, commonly known as Magic Mushrooms, at the Halls of Residence at Edinburgh College, to “another or others and, in particular, to Antoine Maury” on October 24, 2016.

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Antoine, who was 20, had been studying music management in Edinburgh, but was not even two months into his course when he disappeared.

Antoine’s body was found on December 2 last year in Duddingston Loch, close to the last sightings of him on the night of October 24, when he had run away from friends and removed his upper clothing before entering Holyrood Park.

Despite the passage of time, there were still traces of psilocin in his body.

Sheriff Cook extended the sympathy of the court to Antoine’s family and told Mckerral it was evident that he had suffered remorse and been deeply affected by his friend’s death.

Sheriff Cook ordered Mckerral to carry out 210 hours of unpaid work in the community over the next ten months.