Woman who tried to murder toddler by giving her adult medication and posted TikToks during trial jailed

A woman who tried to murder a toddler by repeatedly giving her adult medication has been sentenced to an order for lifelong restriction with a minimum of six years in jail.

Laura Docherty's actions were branded "utterly reckless and breathtakingly wicked" by a judge, with the offender additionally described as "dishonest, manipulative and cunning".

A court heard how Docherty, 35, gave the girl antidepressant and painkilling drugs, resulting in her needing to be resuscitated and placed on a ventilator.

Judge Michael O'Grady KC previously said the offender was willing to throw the child's life away "for nothing more than the drama of the moment, and the attention you seem to seek at every turn".

The judge said during one occasion, Docherty came within a hair's breadth of killing the girl and while a paramedic used "all his skills to pull her back from the very point of death", the defendant was filming the "frantic" ambulance journey.

Docherty posted a string of carefree TikTok videos while standing trial for the attempted murder - with one captioned "#makemefamous", and another featuring the eye-roll emoji alongside the words "court again".

In a later clip, she is seen lip syncing along to Dirty Dancing's (I've Had) The Time of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.

And in another, captioned "#court #screwedup", she lip syncs to a dance remix of Celine Dion's Because You Loved Me in what appears to be a hall within the High Court in Edinburgh.

She also appears to have filmed a clip in one of the building's toilets, lip syncing and dancing along to a remix of TI and Rihanna's Live Your Life.

Docherty, formerly of Glenrothes in Fife, denied any wrongdoing, but was convicted of the murder bid in December following a trial at the High Court.

The defendant - who was previously said to have shown "no empathy" for the child and instead considered "herself to be the victim" - was sentenced at the same court on Monday.

Judge O'Grady told Docherty: "You are not the victim here."

He also noted that she continues to deny any wrongdoing, stating: "You deny your guilt. You accept no responsibility. You show no remorse or insight. You blame others for the situation you find yourself in."

The judge imposed an order for lifelong restriction (OLR) - a sentence usually reserved for the most serious court cases in Scotland that do not involve murder.

Docherty will have to serve a minimum of six years in jail, and if she is ever released back into the community, she will remain under a lifelong risk management plan.

She was additionally handed a non-harassment order, banning her from contacting the victim.

The judge said: "What you did to [the child] was not only wickedly reckless, it was staggeringly cruel."

He added: "The word 'wicked' is an old-fashioned word, but there are times when no other word will suffice."

The judge once again highlighted her "insatiable desire for attention and validation", adding: "It is absolutely plain that this was done for attention and drama."

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Docherty carried out her crime against the toddler between April 2021 and February 2023 at an address in Edinburgh, at a ward at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, and elsewhere.

She assaulted and attempted to murder the girl by repeatedly administering drugs which were medications not prescribed for her.

As a result, the victim suffered seizures and episodes of reduced consciousness.

She had to be resuscitated, admitted to hospital, put on a ventilator, and was subjected to medical investigations and procedures.

An earlier psychiatric assessment reported that Docherty suffers from an "emotionally unstable personality disorder".

Judge O'Grady previously acknowledged Docherty's "troubled and unhappy life", but stated: "Whatever your own trials and tribulations, whatever the turmoil in your own life, what you did to her was utterly wicked."

He added: "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."

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