Lynda Spence British, financial consultant. Date of Birth: 01.01.1986 Country: Great Britain

1. Linda Spence
2. The Crime
3. The Victim
4. Aftermath

Linda Spence

Linda Spence, a British financial advisor, became the victim of a horrific kidnapping and murder in Ayrshire, Scotland, on April 14th. Colin Coats and Philip Wade, two men, abducted her, forcing her into a car and taking her to an apartment owned by David Parker, an associate of the criminals.

The Crime

Linda Spence endured a fortnight of torture in Parker's apartment, recounts of which paint a harrowing picture. She was held captive in an attic, bound to a leather chair, never leaving it throughout her ordeal. Coats and Wade used various cruel methods to extract information from her, including a pair of gardening shears, a hot iron, and a golf club. They severed her thumb, crushed her feet, and severely disfigured her little finger.

Despite the criminals' efforts to dispose of her body, justice eventually caught up with them. Colin Coats, the mastermind behind the crime, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 33 years. Philip Wade, his accomplice, also received a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 years. At the time of writing, both men are 42 years old and will likely spend the remainder of their lives in prison. David Parker and Paul Smith, two other individuals involved in the crime, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment charges but were acquitted of the main charges.

The Victim

Linda Spence's loved ones have described her as a wonderful friend, a loving daughter, and an overall kind-hearted person. However, Colin Coats's accounts present a different perspective on Spence, partially illuminating his motives for the brutal crime. According to Coats, he had met Spence a year before the murder. She had convinced him to invest nearly all of his money, £85,000, in a complex land deal near Stansted Airport. The promised returns of £3,000,000 never materialized, and the securities Spence provided turned out to be fraudulent.

Aftermath

At the time of her disappearance, Linda Spence was facing charges of involvement in nearly 30 fraud cases. While she was never officially convicted, partly due to her status as a police informant, even the truth of her past does not justify Coats's actions or his misguided attempt to deliver justice. Coats never recovered his lost money and now faces three decades or more behind bars, a meager recompense for his horrific act of vengeance.