Sandyford Murder: Sgeulachd Jessie McLachlan

Overview

The case of Jessie McLachlan, known as 'the Sandyford killing', is the third in a four part series looking at Glasgow's notorious 'square mile murders.' Jess McPherson worked at Sandyford Place, part of gentrified Glasgow. In the early hours of a summer morning in 1862, she was found badly beaten and dying in her basement bedroom. Her best friend Jessie McLachlan was subsequently arrested and accused of murder. There was a public outcry however, when it became evident that McLachlan's wealthy employers were being protected by the authorities. Jessie McLachlan always denied the murder, and maintained that James Fleming had attacked McPherson in a fit of drunken rage, but despite much evidence against Fleming, a jury found McLachlan guilty and she was sentenced to hang. Despite widespread public sympathy, she went on to serve fifteen years in prison after the sentence was commuted. The verdict is still considered one of Scotland's most shocking miscarriages of justice.