A pensioner has been jailed for at least 16 years for murdering a woman in a brutal attack in her own home.

Michael Taylor, 72, targeted 60-year old Elizabeth Muir at some point between March 28 and 31 last year, beating her repeatedly and so severely that she died as a result of a number of significant head injuries, the Crown Office said.

Glasgow Times:

Picture credit: Police Scotland

Ms Muir was found after two friends visited her Inverness home and discovered her body on the kitchen floor.

Taylor, from Inverness, denied the crime but was convicted of murder on May 18 following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to serve a minimum 16 years in jail when he appeared at the court on Wednesday, the Crown Office said.

Speaking following sentencing, Nicky Patrick, procurator fiscal for homicide and major crime, said: "Michael Taylor carried out a brutal attack which left a woman dead in her own home and her murder was a great shock to the local community.

"Despite denying the crime, the commitment of police and prosecutors ensured that he did not escape justice for his appalling actions."

Glasgow Times:

During the trial, the Crown said Taylor's DNA was found on the body of Ms Muir and his fingerprints were found in her blood nearby.

When he was detained by police the following week, DNA from Ms Muir was recovered from the watch he was wearing.

In addition, medical staff from the prison where Taylor had been kept on remand told the court of admissions he had made to them.

He told them, unprompted, he had only punched Ms Muir repeatedly, but claimed he was acting in self-defence after she had come at him with a knife.

No knife was ever found.