West Lothian crime: Attempted murderer Malcolm Andrew McDougal sentenced to 10 years in jail

Malcolm Andrew McDougal has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for three attempted murders that took place in West Lothian.

His crimes took place in various locations throughout West Lothian between 2012 and 2019.

The 43-year-old was sentenced on Friday (September 23) at the High Court in Edinburgh after previously being convicted of three counts of attempted murder on August 5.

Detective Inspector Frank Keegan of the domestic abuse task force said: “McDougal will now face the consequences of his brutal behaviour and hopefully this will provide his victims with some closure.

Abuser Malcolm Andrew McDougal has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for three counts of attempted murder.

"No-one should live in fear of abuse or feel threatened in their own home. We hope the conviction today gives the victims and anyone else who may be a victim reassurance that we will listen and investigate all reports of domestic abuse."

“I would urge anyone who feels they've been a victim of domestic abuse, or has concerns about friends or family members, to get in touch with police.”

Following Mr McDougal’s sentencing, one of the women subjected to his violence reacted to his guilty verdict.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I’m the one who lives with a life sentence; the depression, the scars. It’s hard waking up knowing that someone did that.”

The woman, who was in a relationship with McDougal, was subjected to verbal and physical abuse. She said he called her names and used words such as ‘worthless’ and ‘useless’.

During their time together, he punched and kicked her, strangled her and drugged her tea. At one point, McDougal strangled her so hard she thought she was going to die.

She said: “It started getting worse and worse. This monster was just living 24/7 in my life. I was trapped.

"I just thought, if he was going to do something, I wanted him to just hurry up and do it. I was so miserable. There was nobody I could turn to. The things he would do, he was so unpredictable.

"I hoped he was in a good mood. If he was in a good mood, he would let me be in a good mood.”

She added: “Over the months there was strangling and spitting, a lot of spitting involved. So many brutal things you’d never do to someone you loved.”

Speaking after the verdict, she said: “It’s good to be alive.

"I have achieved things I never thought I could. I wish it never took so long.