A woman in Scotland is possibly facing life in prison after being found guilty of child abuse. Laura Docherty repeatedly gave a toddler adult strength anti-depressants and pain medications over a period of nearly two years. The medications led to multiple hospitalizations that required serious life-saving treatment each time. Miraculously, the girl managed to survive the ongoing abuse. The relationship between Docherty and the child has not been revealed, nor have the details about how the abuse eventually stopped. The woman, however, still maintains that she didn’t do anything wrong.
She appeared in court in 2025.
According to the BBC, Docherty began abusing the little girl at the age of 2 in April 2021. The abuse took place at an address in Edinburgh at a ward at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and other places. This went on until February 2023.
Docherty gave the girl amitriptyline, propranolol and dihydrocodeine, STV reported. According to the outlet, the medications caused the girl to have seizures and periods of reduced consciousness.
The attempted murder charge stated that the girl was subjected to “unnecessary medical investigations and procedures” during her trips to the hospital. Additionally, the toddler needed to be placed on a ventilator.
During her trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in December 2025, Docherty denied attempting to murder the child, but a jury unanimously found her guilty, the BBC reported.
“It is impossible to forget the sight of a young child, who should have been in the flower of her childhood, prone in the back of an ambulance, desperately struggling to breathe, desperately struggling to hang on by a thread to life,” Judge Michael O’Grady KC said.
The judge believes that Docherty may pose a risk in the future.
According to STV, a judge ordered that a full risk assessment be prepared on the 35-year-old woman. It could lead to her receiving an Order for Lifelong Restriction. If someone receives this restriction, the court sets a minimum jail term, but if or when they get released is up to a parole board.
O’Grady ordered the restriction because Docherty continues to deny she did anything wrong and shows no remorse for her actions. “She considers she is the victim,” he said, per STV.
Because of her actions, he has concerns about what kind of a risk she’d be if she was ever released from prison. “My concerns may be unfounded and the risks may not exist, but given the extraordinary circumstances of this case I am bound to consider this in the context of an OLR,” he said.
The judge didn’t hold back on his opinions of her.
@worstnightmarehehex #fyp #nowitsmyturn #court #fife #screwedup ♬ Originalton – SCAR
“Her actions were utterly reckless and breathtakingly wicked,” O’Grady said, The London Times reported. “Time and again she deceived doctors and nurses and social workers and showed considerable guile.”
The judge went so far as to call Docherty manipulative in court. Thankfully, the girl survived the woman’s abuse, and O’Grady gave all the credit to the doctors and paramedics who repeatedly saved her life.
While testifying for the defense, Simon Gilbride said Docherty experienced “significant childhood trauma.” A report prepared on her showed that she had an emotionally unstable personality disorder, according to The Times.
O’Grady acknowledged that Docherty had “a troubled and unhappy life” based on evidence presented during the trial but remained unmoved.
“It is difficult to see that anything could adequately explain or justify what you have done to the child,” he said. He asserted that she inflicted abuse on the girl “for nothing more than the drama of the moment and the attention you seem to seek at every turn.”
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
