Scotland's papers: 'Depraved' murderer and ScotRail fares warning
The conviction of a man found guilty of sexually assaulting and murdering his 16-year-old sister dominates the front pages on Wednesday. Connor Gibson, 20, strangled his sister Amber, whose body was found in Cadzow Glen, Hamilton, in November 2021. Another man was found guilty of interfering with the body. The Scottish Sun describes Connor Gibson as the "brother of all evil".
The day before his arrest, Gibson posted a tribute to his sister on Facebook, the Daily Record reports. He also got in touch with the paper to tell readers "what she was really like", the paper adds.
The Glasgow Times leads with a statement from the siblings' former foster parents, Craig and Carol Niven. "We now have one daughter buried in Larkhall Cemetery and another child in prison," they said. "Life will never be the same."
Judge Lord Mulholland told Gibson he would receive a mandatory life sentence, the Metro reports. He said that the last thing Amber would have seen was her brother strangling her, and told him: "You will pay a heavy price for that."
The Scotsman highlights quotes from Amber's former foster parents, who said both siblings had been "let down throughout their lives by the system". Meanwhile, it reports that a trial plan to scrap peak ScotRail fares could cost more than £60m per year unless there is an increase in passenger numbers.
As well as covering the Amber Gibson trial, the Scottish Daily Mail leads with a report on the Scottish government's plans to reform an energy efficiency scheme for Scottish homes. The paper says a planned shake-up of energy performance certificates could mean many Scottish homes will fail to meet minimum targets set by ministers. It says homeowners could be forced to make "expensive changes" to heating systems before they can sell or rent a property from 2025.
The Herald leads with concerns about "soaring leakage" in the Scottish Water network. The paper says the amount lost in a single month was almost enough to fill 7,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. It comes as the operator announced it intends to increase prices amid the cost of living crisis, the paper notes.
Labour peer George Foulkes has intensified a row between the Scottish and UK governments after suggesting Holyrood ministers who work to promote independence should be fined, the National reports. It comes amid a dispute over Scottish government input on reserved issues.
The i leads with "shocking" waiting lists in Scotland's social care system. Data from Public Health Scotland shows more than 10,000 people are either waiting for support or to be assessed, the paper says.
Criticism of Natwest chief executive Alison Rose is the focus of the Times. She admitted leaking information about ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage, and the paper says she was under pressure from Downing Street to resign. The paper went to press before Ms Rose announced, in the early hours of Wednesday, that she was resigning.
The Telegraph leads with claims that the banking chief's position had become "untenable" after Ms Rose had initially insisted that she would not resign.
An uncle killed his 21-year-old nephew in a "horrific" knife attack in Orkney, the Press and Journal reports. Erlend Fraser, 50, stabbed William Fraser 20 times in his home in June last year. He had faced a murder charge but a guilty plea was accepted to the lesser charge of culpable homicide on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
The mother of a Dundee teenager left in a coma after suffering from pneumonia and a blood infection while on holiday in Spain has spoken of her relief after securing a medical flight home for her daughter, the Evening Telegraph reports. Bryony Duthie, 18, has been treated at a hospital in Feungirola on the Costa del Sol but will now return via private air ambulance to Scotland after her mother Stephanie launched an online fundraiser.
A man who stole £15,000 of Christmas presents from an Aberdeen family's home has admitted theft charges, the Evening Express reports. The paper says Graeme Bain was sentenced to a year's supervision and 150 hours of unpaid work.
Edinburgh City Council leader Cammy Day has condemned vandalism of cameras designed to help implement low traffic neighbourhoods in the capital. A camera pole in Corstorphine was cut, with the message "no LTN" crawled on a nearby wall, the Edinburgh Evening News reports.
And Winter Olympics gold medallists Eve Muirhead and Lucinda Russell are to be awarded the freedom of Perth, the Courier reports. The pair were part of the Team GB curling squad which won in Beijing last year.
