A murderer who tortured and sexually assaulted his neighbour has died in jail after catching Covid.
John 'Jock' Reid passed away at HMP Glenochil in Scotland in July after he was diagnosed with "Covid-19 and viral pneumonia.
The 63-year-old has been in the prison since 1999, when he was jailed for the attack and murder of his neighbour Elaine Collie, EdinburghLive reports.
After he gained access to her home in Muirhouse, Edinburgh, the killer hit the 46-year-old over the head, before tying her to the bed and sexually assaulting her.
Reid then went on to torture Ms Collie with electric shocks, before suffocating her and robbing her flat of jewellery and cash.
Details of Reid's death have now been confirmed, after prison bosses stated that around 200 inmates were currently positiive for Covid-19, with more than 1,000 self-isolating, reports the Daily Record.
In March, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf revealed that eight prisoners had at that point died from the virus while in custody.
As of Tuesday, there were 187 confirmed cases of Covid-19 among those in SPS’s care and 1,053 individuals who are self-isolating across 11 establishments due to a potential contact with a confirmed case.
This week, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) issued it’s annual report, which said the SPS, NHS and the Scottish Government should be commended for “swift action” in responding to the pandemic.
Chief Inspector Wendy Sinclair-Gieben said Scotland must reduce its prisoner numbers, saying issues with “overcrowding” and “social isolation” had intensified during the pandemic, but this had not led to a surge in Covid-related prisoner deaths.
She said: “The predictions by numerous academic and third sector groups of catastrophic outcomes, thankfully did not come to pass in Scotland’s prisons and, despite numerous Covid-19 outbreaks, the number of Covid-19 deaths remained low.
“This significant achievement by caring prison and health service teams deserves greater recognition.
“I wholeheartedly commend the commitment, determination and courage of all the staff who continued working throughout this period and indeed the cohesive leadership that emerged during the crisis.
"We also commend the tolerance and resilience of prisoners forced into extremely restricted conditions.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said a wider challenge remained addressing a spike in jail fatalities involving illegal and psychoactive substances.
