“Manipulative and devious” Tasmin Glass has been granted leave to challenge her ten-year sentence for the killing of former boyfriend Steven Donaldson.
Days after appeal judges granted co-accused Callum Davidson leave to appeal his 24-year jail term for the horrific murder of popular Arbroath oil worker Mr Donaldson in a crime which shocked Angus, it has been confirmed the young mum will fight the length of her sentence at an Edinburgh hearing next month.
High Court appeal judges have allowed 20-year-old Glass’s appeal against sentence to proceed and, as anticipated, arguments will be presented by counsel for each accused on the same day.
The appeals will be heard on November 15 in Edinburgh.
Glass showed no emotion at the High Court following her conviction in May for the killing of the man she told a jury was the father of her child, born while she was on bail awaiting trial over the heinous crime.
During the 22-day trial, the jury heard how the one-time musical theatre starlet became mired in money troubles centred around repayment of insurance money from a written-off car which Mr Donaldson had bought her in the early days of their relationship after meeting at a motorcycle race in 2017.
She claimed she had wanted to give the relationship another go, but admitted in the High Court witness box of lying to Mr Donaldson in the hours leading up to the fateful night in June 2018 when Glass lured her ex-boyfriend to Kirriemuir’s Peter Pan playpark, where new lover Steven Dickie and his best pal Davidson were lying in wait.
Mr Donaldson was attacked there then driven in his own car to Kinnordy Loch nature reserve, before being beaten with a baseball bat and struck with a heavy bladed instrument which twice severed his spinal cord. The two men then dragged him back to his car and set fire to the vehicle.
The Angus community’s widespread revulsion over the part Glass played in the killing was reflected in trial judge Lord Pentland’s sentencing comments.
He told Glass – who within hours of the horrific murder scene being discovered had served detectives coffee in the Kirriemuir café where she worked – she had displayed “chilling coolness” in the crime.
“You had led Mr Donaldson to believe that you were meeting him to discuss the future of the relationship, but in truth your plan was for your two co-accused to set upon him so that you could get him out of your life,” Lord Pentland said.
“Through your duplicity Dickie and Davidson were able to take Mr Donaldson by surprise.
“With chilling coolness, you then drove home and carried on as normal in front of your parents. In the ensuing days you maintained that front.
“I conclude that without your influence the fatal attack on Mr Donaldson would not have occurred. You have demonstrated that you are manipulative and devious when it comes to advancing your own interests.
Dickie, who was jailed for 23 years, lodged initial notice of intention but did not pursue his appeal.
