Thug's plea after brutal baseball bat attack on woman and child

William Corstorphine crashed through a window at the woman’s home in St Andrews, at 3.30am on September 3 last year armed with a baseball bat and a knife before climbing the stairs and starting his brutal assault.

The whole attack was captured on a “harrowing” nine minute long 999 call, which recorded the sounds of the vile thug screaming abuse and threats to kill his victims.

He first battered a 14-year-old boy, repeatedly hitting him with the bat as he lay defenceless on the first-floor landing.

Corstorphine then turned on the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, raising the bat above his head.

She grabbed on to the handle with both hands - telling a jury at Dundee Sheriff Court how she feared that if she let go Corstorphine would kill her.

He then pinned her to the ground, pulled her hair - removing a clump - and smashing her in the face and on the body again and again with clenched fists, leaving her covered in bruises following the assault.

At one stage, vile Corstorphine sexually assaulted her.

His woman told the court how as police burst into the house to put an end to the attack Corstorphine sat crying on her bed, moaning: “I can’t go to jail.”

And during his own evidence the remorseless thug wept, branded police “liars”, and claimed he hadn’t “punched” his victim - but had instead “pounded” her with his fists.

He now faces a lengthy prison sentence after he was convicted of “doubly violating” the woman by breaking into her house and attacking her and her son.

During a three-day trial at Dundee Sheriff Court the woman told how she feared for her life during the attack.

She said: “I thought he was going to kill me - he said he was going to kill me.

“At the end I was seeing stars - you can hear it on the 999 call, he was calming and the police were in the house.

“He was saying ‘I can’t go to jail’.”

She told how she and her son were awoken by the sound of smashing glass on the ground floor of their home and both went to the top of the stairs to investigate.

The woman called 999 as Corstorphine came up the stairs, where he launched his sustained assault.

Giving evidence in his own defence, Corstorphine wept as he recalled his version of the attack.

Chillingly, asked if his victim had grabbed the baseball bat to stop him striking her, he said: “Had I come in with the bat raised I very much doubt she would have been able to stop me.”

Summing up the case to jurors today, fiscal depute Sue Ruta said: “The complainer described the harrowing, harrowing assault.

“You have heard the 999 call in which you heard the various shouts.

“You have heard his own evidence in which he makes admissions about the assault.

“If you find her a credible witness I ask you to convict the accused.”

Corstorphine (55) a prisoner at HMP Perth, denied five charges on indictment of possessing a knife, behaving in a threatening and abusive mannner, assaulting the boy and woman and breaching bail.

He admitted possessing the knife, threats, bail breach and assaulting the boy minutes before a jury was sent to consider its verdict - but maintained his not guilty plea to attacking the woman.

A jury took an hour to convict him of that charge.

Sheriff Alastair Brown deferred sentence on Corstorphine until later this month and remanded him in custody meantime.

He said: “This was a double violation of this woman - he violated her home and he violated her.”