A woman who had kept a two-year-old child in a cage and tried to sell a child in the street for £1 million ($1.2 million) has been found dead.
Claire Boyle’s body was discovered after police were called to a house on Main Street in Ochiltree, East Ayrshire, on Thursday (April 4), as reported by Daily Mail.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said in a statement: “Around 7AM on Thursday, April 4, 2024, police were called to a property in the Main Street area of Ochiltree, following the sudden death of a woman.”
“There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances and a report was submitted to the Procurator Fiscal,” as cited by The Mirror.
Claire Boyle was found after police were called to a property. Credit: Police Scotland
Boyle, who was suspected to be in her late 30s, had several previous convictions for child neglect.
In 2021, Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard the woman neglected a four-year-old child so badly that doctors worried he had blood cancer or a blood clotting disorder, reports The Sun.
Her mistreatment only came to light when the child, who was covered in bruises, fled from her house through a window. He crammed through a six-inch gap between the frame and pane and plunged four feet to the ground. He was seen wearing only pajamas and roaming the streets in the rain before cops were contacted.
Authorities went to the residence Boyle shared with her partner, Timothy Johnstone – who is 23 years her senior – and were left stunned after finding a two-year-old child being kept in a homemade cage.
According to Edinburgh Live, the base of the cot had been removed and attached to the top with belts from dressing gowns, meaning a child could not escape once inside.
The couple denied child neglect but were found guilty following a trial and were spared jail. Boyle was ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and was allowed to look after the kids.
Boyle was due in court this year over two further prosecutions. Credit: GeoStock / Getty
Back in 2014, Boyle was given a Community Payback Order at Ayr Sheriff Court for being found unconscious on a couch with a distressed baby at her feet.
That same year, she was handed another Community Payback Order after being caught trying to sell a baby for $1.2 million on Ayr High Street. The Daily Mail reported that she shook the boy, yelled at him, and dumped him in a “damp and draughty” area in the seaside town.
In addition to this, Boyle had several live court cases and was due at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court this June over two further prosecutions.