Court process begins for FAI into death of mum in Biggar
Last updated 25th Apr 2023
Update: Following discussion with the family of Joanne Gallacher the court has changed the date of the Preliminary Hearing to 6 June 2023.
The family of a Scots woman stabbed to death by her troubled ex-boyfriend are welcoming the start of a Fatal Accident Inquiry into her death.
But Joanne Gallacher's mum, Louise, is questioning the timing of the hearing - falling as it does on what would have been her 38th birthday.
James Kennedy was convicted of the culpable homicide of the 33-year-old after attacking her with a knife at his home in Biggar, after she went to check on his welfare, on December 21st, 2018.
The FAI will look at the way he was managed and risk assessed by mental health services - with a preliminary hearing set at Hamilton Sheriff Court for July 12th.
Louise Gallacher, who's 61 and from East Kilbride, said: “The first FAI hearing on July 12 would have been Joanne’s 38th birthday and that detail alone makes me sick to my stomach.
“Do people who organise FAIs not even think about the emotional impact of such things?
“Nonetheless, I am pleased this FAI is now going ahead but I’m obviously still devastated about why it’s going ahead.
“It’s not just Kennedy that’s responsible for Joanne’s death – there is serious gaps in process and care that contributed to this and that’s what we need to address to make sure something like this never happens again.
“The last few years have been a roller coaster so this FAI is the first sense of progress we’ve had.
“But ultimately Kennedy is still alive and Joanne isn’t, and no amount of hearings will ever change that.”
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Kennedy was convicted of culpable homicide on the basis of diminished responsibility on June 25th, 2019 and ordered to be detained in Carstairs State Hospital indefinitely.
The purpose of a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) includes determining the cause of death; the circumstances in which the deaths occurred, and to establish what, if any, reasonable precautions could have been taken, and could be implemented in the future, to minimise the risk of future deaths in similar circumstances.
Unlike criminal proceedings, FAIs are inquisitorial in nature, and are used to establish facts rather than to apportion blame.
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Gordon Dalyell, Partner at Digby Brown, added: “What happened to Joanne was a completely avoidable tragedy and we will continue to support and advise her family.
“We hope the FAI will reveal just what went wrong that day on 22 December 2018 and provide the answers the Gallacher family deserve, while making hospitals safer for the future.”
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