Man jailed for life after murdering a 97-year-old woman in her Fife home

A 38-year-old man has been jailed for life after murdering an elderly woman in her home in Fife.

Sandeep Patel had cashed a number of cheques in Annie Temple’s name in the days before her murder in October 2019.

Patel’s dad had been Mrs Temple’s GP and his mum still visited the pensioner in her home in Kinglassie.

Between October 3 and 23, Patel made out cheques totalling £2,750 to himself and signed them in Mrs Temple’s name.

He successfully deposited £1,500 into his account, before a suspicious bank teller stopped the last cheque and alerted her.

On October 25, Patel killed the 97-year-old at her home.

After a trial, he pleaded guilty to the fraud and to a separate charge of altering a £5 refund cheque from Western Toyota by adding two zeros and trying to cash it on July 19 2019.

A jury found him guilty of murdering Mrs Temple.

Patel was given his sentence at the High Court in Glasgow today.

David Green, procurator fiscal for homicide and major crime, said: "Sandeep Patel took advantage of the trust fostered by his family’s relationship with Annie Temple and used it to defraud her of her money.

"When Ms Temple then discovered his betrayal, he brutally murdered her.

"It’s thanks to painstaking work by detectives and prosecutors that Patel has been brought to justice.

"Our thoughts are with Annie Temple’s loved ones as they attempt to come to terms with her murder."