Grounded schoolboy admits stabbing foster carer Dawn McKenzie to death Published duration 22 June 2012

image caption Foster carer Dawn McKenzie was a former nursery worker

A 14-year-old boy has admitted killing his foster carer by stabbing her 10 times after he was grounded.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was originally charged with murdering Dawn McKenzie, 34, at a flat in Hamilton, on 24 June 2011.

The Crown accepted his plea to a lesser charge of culpable homicide on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

At the High Court in Glasgow, sentence on the boy was deferred until August for background reports.

The court heard that in the days leading up to the killing the boy's X-box, mobile phone and laptop had been taken off him.

Fatal blow

A number of psychiatrists who examined the boy said he was not able to control his behaviour at the time.

Ms McKenzie was stabbed 10 times on the head and body. The fatal blow severed a major blood vessel and caused her to bleed to death.

She was also stabbed twice in the scalp and the force of one of these blows was so great that the tip of the blade broke off and imbedded itself in her skull.

The defensive injuries she received showed that she had fought for her life.

After the boy fled, Ms McKenzie managed to dial 999 and told police who had stabbed her.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice QC, prosecuting, said: "The deceased and her husband Bryan treated the accused as their own. They were all due to go on holiday abroad together.

"It would appear that there was nothing remarkable about his behaviour in the lead up to this offence."

The court heard it had been a normal Friday night, with Mr McKenzie and the boy driving Dawn to the supermarket and then going for a drive before picking her up again.