Woman left with brain damage by murder bid caught on CCTV

A man was caught on camera carrying out a murder bid on a woman who was left with brain damage.

Michael Harvey attacked his victim in the street, which included her head being repeatedly hit off the ground.

The 32-year-old later lied that she had sustained her injuries by falling in the shower of the hotel where they had been staying.

The woman was unable to testify at Harvey’s trial due to the impact the ordeal has had on her.

He was convicted of attempted murder following the case at the High Court in Glasgow.

The pair had checked into the Ibis Hotel in the city’s West Regent Street late on September 30, 2023.

They had appeared in good spirits, but the trial heard “something annoyed” Harvey after they went to their room.

Jurors were told that when the pair went outside and he was “a very angry man”.

CCTV footage of Harvey turning on the woman during an unprovoked assault in nearby Waterloo Street was played during the trial.

This involved her being thrown to the ground, grabbed, kicked, and dragged. She was, at times, left unconscious.

In her closing speech, prosecutor Lindsey Dalziel stated: “Michael Harvey subjected the woman to a series of brutal attacks.

“She was left in a condition where she could not walk, she could not talk, she could not properly function.

“Once in that condition, he compelled her to move at his direction – he paid little attention to her appalling deterioration, which you may have found distressing to watch.

“I suggest an unprovoked and murderous assault on a vulnerable woman, so blinded by rage that he did not care whether she lived or died.”

Others in the street became aware of what was happening, and police attended the scene, but Harvey was not arrested.

The court heard the officers’ “actions” that night are being “investigated separately”.

Harvey ended up in hospital with the woman, but left before she was properly checked out.

She was described as “barely functioning” by the time he led her away.

They returned to the hotel, where Harvey remained in a rage.

There was banging in their room, and a man was heard screaming violent threats.

The woman was eventually found unresponsive by a hotel worker in the blood-splattered room.

Harvey was later said to have given an account to police described as “preposterous” with an “abundance of inconsistencies and lies”.

This also included claims that the woman had fallen outside when “the fresh air hit her” and that she had been “lovey dovey” while they were in the accident and emergency.

The court heard the victim suffered “traumatic brain injuries”. She continues to have issues with memory loss, which will not improve, and is likely to be on anti-seizure medication for life.

Lord Colbeck continued Harvey’s remand in custody as sentencing was deferred for reports.